Cultural norms, economic incentives and women’s labour market behaviour: empirical insights from Bangladesh

James Heintz,Naila Kabeer,Simeen Mahmud

doi:10.1080/13600818.2017.1382464

Abstract

This paper sets out to explore a seeming puzzle in the context of Bangladesh. There is a considerable body of evidence from the country pointing to the positive impact of paid work on women’s position within family and community. Yet, according to official statistics, not only has women’s labour force participation risen very slowly over the years, but also a sizeable majority of women in the labour force are in unpaid family labour. We draw on an original survey of over 5000 women from eight different districts in Bangladesh to explore some of the factors that lead to women’s selection into the labour force, and into different categories of labour market activity, with a view to gaining a better understanding of the combination of cultural norms and economic considerations that explain these findings.

Highlights

The puzzle of women’s labour market behaviour in BangladeshThe literature on Bangladesh in the aftermath of its emergence as an independent nation in 1971 depicted a country characterised by negative per capita growth rates, partly the result of high and apparently intransigent rates of population growth; widespread poverty; growing landlessness; and an extreme form of patriarchy (Arthur and McNicoll, 1978)
Marital status per se did not appear to make any difference to the likelihood of economic activity but women who described themselves as households heads, the majority of whom were divorced or separated, were more likely to be economically active than women in maleheaded households
We find a weak version of the U-shaped relationship between women’s education and economic activity reported in other South Asian studies in that women with secondary education reported significantly lower rates of economic activity than those with primary or less education and those with post-secondary education

Summary

Introduction

The literature on Bangladesh in the aftermath of its emergence as an independent nation in 1971 depicted a country characterised by negative per capita growth rates, partly the result of high and apparently intransigent rates of population growth; widespread poverty; growing landlessness; and an extreme form of patriarchy (Arthur and McNicoll, 1978) This gloomy picture has been replaced over time by more positive assessments in the light of a rapid decline in fertility rates, increasing rates of per capita growth, a moderate but steady decline in poverty rates, and remarkable progress on the social front (Asadullah et al, 2014). The fact that male labour force participation rates have remained uniformly high throughout this period suggests that it is not the overall dearth of employment opportunities per se that explains women’s restricted engagement with the labour market, but a more gender-specific set of factors

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Conclusion