Married women in Jordan, even with no children, are far less likely to work for pay, indicating that social norms, including those related to fertility expectations, play a role in the household resource allocation process. Women with less housework and fewer care responsibilities are not more likely to be in paid employment than those who do more hours of work at home; however, the presence of other women in the household with paid employment increases the chance of women working themselves. Conversely, having other women in the household who do not work for pay (and therefore could potentially help out with care responsibilities) does not increase the likelihood of women working. These patterns indicate it is likely that social norms and expectations regarding roles that constrain women from accessing labor market opportunities rather than time allocations to unpaid social reproduction activities.

For Jordanian women, being married generates the most extra unpaid work.<sup>40</sup> Young children increase unpaid work modestly; school-aged children do not add to the burden. The presence of another adult woman in the house reduces women’s unpaid work, but another adult man increases women’s unpaid work. Unsurprisingly, there is high demand in Jordan among working women and women seeking employment for childcare; the hourly rate these women indicate they are willing to pay is similar to that being currently charged in the market. Only 18 percent of Jordanian women who are employed use formal childcare services but a further 69 percent would use those services if they were available, as would nearly half of unemployed Jordanian women. The increased avail- ability of childcare could also help shift childcare expectations of married Jordanian women, potentially reducing barriers to labor force entry.<sup>41</sup>

# d. Additional Analysis

Figure A1 of the appendix reveals that having dependents – especially younger dependents – creates financial burdens that have not substantially decreased (in cash terms) via fiscal policy. Time-use data (Figure 12) shows that dependents create significant care responsibilities that are met by females whether or not they are working outside the home. Additional analysis in Jordan that places each household type in the pre-fiscal and post-fiscal income distributions would reveal whether and how fiscal policy creates impacts within household types. This is essential in understanding how, for example, households with multiple income earners and multiple dependents could be provided relief from high total tax burdens via tax credits for young dependents.

> 39. Single women with dependents spend nearly as much time in unpaid work as married women; however single women can share neither income generating responsibilities nor social reproduction responsibilities with an adult partner and will by necessity be the main contributor in both areas.

> 40. Current utilization of, and willingness to use childcare services in Jordan is low: only 9 percent of households with children under five years of age use some form of childcare; over half rely upon family, friends, or neighbors (World Bank 2022). Only 36 percent of non-users would be prepared to use formal childcare: 16 percent if it were free care, a further 16 percent if it were either free or paid, and 4 percent only if it were paid.

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