His and Hers: Evaluating Husbands' Reports of Wives' Housework

Data from the 1985–1986 waves of the Panel Study on Income Dynamics are used to analyze reporting errors in husbands' estimates of wives' housework time relative to wives' self‐reported estimates. The difference between husbands' and wives' estimates is an average of −0.32 hours per week or approximately 20 minutes. This small difference is not statistically significant from zero. We also find, however, that husbands of poorly educated, nonemployed wives who have no children underreport their wives' housework time. In contrast, husbands of highly educated wives, who typically spend less than average time in housework, tend to overreport their wives' housework time.