Woman labor force participation in off-farm activities and its determinants in Afar Regional State, Northeast Ethiopia

Abstract

Women have driven economic development around the globe through higher returns on human capital and education. However, woman’s involvement in labor market was weak over time, generally in Ethiopia and particularly in Afar region. Therefore, this study intended to identify and analyze the determinants of woman’s participation decisions in off-farm activities. The data was collected from 473 sampled women using a multistage sampling technique. Both descriptive and logistic regression model was employed to analyze the determinants of woman participated decision in off-farm activities. Descriptive statistics revealed that, from the total sample, 270 (57.08%) of woman have participated in an off-farm activity, while, 203 (42.92%) of them do not participate. Whereas, the binary logit regression result that woman level of education and dependency ratio was positively and significantly determine woman labor force participation decision; however, a woman who had children less than five years aged, nonfarm training, distance to the market, woman marital status, access to credit, ownership of livestock and safety net adversely affected the participation decision of woman on off-farm activities. This study was recommended that: special attention for woman educational development, adopted family planning and parental benefits, provide and properly follow up nonfarm training, developed marketplace nearby, provide credit for only productive activities, create awareness about off-farm activities in addition to livestock husbandry (mixed-farming), and provide safety net for only eligible woman.