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Notes -
It's not about GDP. Individuals don't choose their career to please the Federal Reserve. So why are women--because men, naturally, aren't expected to do anything so fulfilling--choosing instead to sell their labor on the market?
As far as revealed preferences go, this one isn't particularly shocking. Since the dawn of civilization, the rich and powerful have been paying other people to deal with their kids. Technology has made that dubious ambition much more attainable.
Bad equilibrium.
A lot of labor is people competing for zero sum positional goods. There are 10 houses with a view of the lake. If I have one, you CAN'T have one. So I work extra hours to get ahead in the rat race. So do you. We're all running as fast as we can to stay in the same place.
The career woman personally benefits from her big non-profit job, gaining high prestige and access to positional goods such as housing. But this is all zero sum.
Look to East Asia to see how negative this can be when taken to an extreme.
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