Female Labor Participation Rate Research Articles

Women Who Stopped Working Due to Their Husband’s Opposition in Egypt

Abstract This paper investigates a neglected reason underlying the low female labor participation rates in Egypt: husbands’ opposition. We find that opposition falls with increasing levels of educational attainment and chronological age of the husband. Age at first marriage, religious affiliation, wealth, and the extent to which a husband upholds traditional views regarding the participation of women in the labor market and gender equality in general were not significant. We also report an inverse relationship between the likelihood of husband’s opposition and the number of children in the household, which suggests that financial considerations may outstrip normative considerations.

Detecting the socio-economic drivers of confidence in government with eXplainable Artificial Intelligence

The European Quality of Government Index (EQI) measures the perceived level of government quality by European Union citizens, combining surveys on corruption, impartiality and quality of provided services. It is, thus, an index based on individual subjective evaluations. Understanding the most relevant objective factors affecting the EQI outcomes is important for both evaluators and policy makers, especially in view of the fact that perception of government integrity contributes to determine the level of civic engagement. In our research, we employ methods of Artificial Intelligence and complex systems physics to measure the impact on the perceived government quality of multifaceted variables, describing territorial development and citizen well-being, from an economic, social and environmental viewpoint. Our study, focused on a set of regions in European Union at a subnational scale, leads to identifying the territorial and demographic drivers of citizens’ confidence in government institutions. In particular, we find that the 2021 EQI values are significantly related to two indicators: the first one is the difference between female and male labour participation rates, and the second one is a proxy of wealth and welfare such as the average number of rooms per inhabitant. This result corroborates the idea of a central role played by labour gender equity and housing policies in government confidence building. In particular, the relevance of the former indicator in EQI prediction results from a combination of positive conditions such as equal job opportunities, vital labour market, welfare and availability of income sources, while the role of the latter is possibly amplified by the lockdown policies related to the COVID-19 pandemics. The analysis is based on combining regression, to predict EQI from a set of publicly available indicators, with the eXplainable Artificial Intelligence approach, that quantifies the impact of each indicator on the prediction. Such a procedure does not require any ad-hoc hypotheses on the functional dependence of EQI on the indicators used to predict it. Finally, using network science methods concerning community detection, we investigate how the impact of relevant indicators on EQI prediction changes throughout European regions. Thus, the proposed approach enables to identify the objective factors at the basis of government quality perception by citizens in different territorial contexts, providing the methodological basis for the development of a quantitative tool for policy design.

Changes in the Structure of the Employment Population in China (2010-2020)

Demographic changes have a profound impact on the labor market. From 2010 to 2020, due to changes in age, gender, education level, industry, and other aspects, the labor market presents four trends: (1) The proportion of the working age population in China decreases year by year, population ageing becomes more serious, and the ‘demographic dividend’ gradually disappears. (2) The higher education employment population tends to be younger and more concentrated, and the "demographic dividend" is transforming into the ‘brain dividend’. (3) The level of female education has improved faster than men, and the number of young women in higher education level is higher than that of men, so the "gender dividend" arrives. (4) As more women enter the labor market, all industries require higher levels of female education. As the working population is getting younger education, higher education and higher female labour participation rate, China has ushered in the "human brain dividend" and "gender dividend".

DETERMINANT ANALYSIS OF INDONESIAN GDP PER CAPITA 1991-2020: ECM METHOD

Indonesia's economic growth is known to fluctuate. The government and banks have taken a number of policies to maintain macroeconomic stability that have an impact on the domestic economy in order to prevent a recession from occurring on economic growth. This study aims to determine the factors that can affect GDP per capita in the long term and short term. This study uses descriptive and quantitative methods, and the methodology used is econometrics and processed using statistical software EVIEWS. In this study, the data used is secondary data in the form of time series or time series. The variables tested include Final Consumption Expenditure, Foreign Investment, and the Female Labor Participation Rate. The results of the analysis on short-term tests, all variables tested have no significant effect on GDP per capita. Meanwhile, in the long run it is known that only the final consumption expenditure variable has an effect on Indonesia's GDP per capita for the 1991-2020 period.

Women’s Literacy Rate and Women’s Labor Participation in ASEAN

Women have an essential contribution to economic growth and development. However, according to data, the Gender Inequality Index (GII) is still relatively high in developing countries, so special attention should be paid to aspects of women’s empowerment, health, and participation in the labor market as an indicator in measuring GII. In women’s empowerment, women’s education and women’s literacy are thought to affect women’s labor force participation. This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of women’s literacy rates on female labor force participation in ASEAN countries from 2010- 2017. The method used to analyze the effect on the model is the static panel data method. The results show that countries with high female literacy rates also have high female labor participation rates. The results help economists and policymakers evaluate measures to optimize women’s labor market decisions and empower women by improving women’s literacy rates.

Labour Force Projections in India Until 2060 and Implications for the Demographic Dividend

While India is entering the period of demographic dividend, female labour participation rates remain very low. This paper aims to provide the very first labour force projections for India and its regions up to the year 2060. Projections are achieved using a discrete-time microsimulation model in which changes in population size and composition come from the interaction between demographic characteristics, educational attainment, and secular tendencies. Labour force participation rates are estimated at the individual level using personal characteristics as predictors. Results show that under constant labour force participation rates, the labour force dependency ratio (non-workers/workers) is very unlikely to attain favourable levels, which compromises the potential demographic dividend that the country could gain from its favourable age-structure. At the subnational level, the forecast yields the most favourable dependency ratio in 2060 in the regions that combine both a low-age dependency ratio and a higher participation of women. Results moreover suggest that female labour force participation is a better driver of the labour force dependency ratio than the age composition.

Association between labor force participation rates and the total fertility rate in Iran: gender aspect

The influence of economic growth on the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has been widely discussed and demonstrated in many research papers. The labor force participation rate and the unemployment rate as economic indicators play an important role in the TFR dynamics. Different studies have shown that fluctuations in female and male labor force participation rates have either positive or negative impacts on the TFR. In this study, we aim to investigate if there is any positive or negative correlation between female and male labor participation rates and the TFR in Iran. We applied time-series analysis for the period 1991-2019. We used secondary data from official bodies such as Iran’s Ministry of Cooperatives Labor and Social Welfare, the World Bank data, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the Statistical Center of Iran, and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Dynamics to explain the trends in labor force participation rates, unemployment rates, and the TFR. We also applied Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis to measure the strength and direction of these relationships. The results of the study show that the female labor force participation rate has a negative correlation (r = -0.783, sig. = 0.000), and the male labor force participation rate has a positive correlation with the TFR (r = 0.827, sig. = 0.000). Men’s unemployment seems to have a negative correlation (r = -0.366, sig. = 0.050), and women’s unemployment seems to have no correlation with the TFR. Considering the economic problems in Iran, more women will enter the labor market in the nearest future, therefore they postpone their marriage and the TFR will continue to decline.

Female Labor Participation Rate and Economic Growth in South Asian Countries

Female Labor Participation Rate and Economic Growth in South Asian Countries

Social capital and board gender diversity

AbstractResearch question/issueThis study explores the relationship between the level of social capital in the location of a firm's headquarter and the presence of female board directors. We measure local social capital by civic norms (i.e., voter turnout and census participation) and density of social networks (i.e., community, professional, church, and sports). We hypothesize that greater levels of local social capital will increase the share of female directors on local firms' boards, including women attaining a critical mass presence as well as member and chair roles on the board's audit, compensation, and nomination committees.Research findings/insightsUsing 53,671 observations from U.S. public companies from 2000 to 2018, we find that firms headquartered in counties with higher levels of social capital have higher percentages of women directors. The results are robust to the inclusion of local female labor participation rate, religiosity, and other county‐level demographics as well as instrumental variable and propensity score matching models. We also find that female directors in firms located in high social capital counties are more likely to achieve a critical mass; attain membership of audit, compensation, and/or nomination committees; and serve as chair of audit and nomination committees than female directors in firms located in low social capital counties. A robustness check with an international sample reveals similar results.Theoretical/academic implicationsWe build on institutional theory to highlight that the informal institution of social capital, in the form of U.S. county‐level civic norms and social networks, shapes gender composition of local firms' boards. We build institutional theory at two levels of the quest for “fit” to the environment: firms seeking “fit” by creating more leadership opportunities for women, and individuals pursuing “fit” by moving up in corporate careers. We outline theoretical mechanisms including underlying informal societal norms of greater trust, tolerance for gender equality, respect for civil liberties, cooperative and helpful behavior, transparency, external monitoring, and less discrimination and information asymmetry.Practitioner/policy implicationsOur findings offer insights to policymakers and practitioners interested in how local social capital shapes firm and individual actions. Our policy‐related findings suggest that communities with greater civic norms are characterized by greater individual commitment to and trust in communities, equality, helpful behavior, and external monitoring, and less cynicism, and this context enables women to reach corporations' highest echelons. To maximize career prospects, women can attain leadership and other skills through local societal associations and build and strengthen ties in counties with higher levels of social capital. Firms should actively support community associations and direct philanthropy towards building social fabric in local communities.

Does Financial Development Contribute to Fertility Decline in Developed and Developing Countries?

The “old-age security” hypotheses propose that financial market can affect individuals’ decision to have less or more children. In previous literature, children are considered an asset and investment at low level of financial development that could bring returns and security during old age. Nevertheless, at higher level of financial development, individuals have more access to fund and opportunity for investment during old age and as a result the demand for children is less. Furthermore, increase in female labour participation rate in the economic sectors will also discourage them to have more children. The development of commercial bank and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) has broadened credit accessibility and investment opportunity to household over the last decades. Well-developed financial system facilitates firms to access to the credit market and enhanced production efficiency and promote increases in wages in the modern market. Household have choice to move from traditional market (low wages, high fertility rate) to work in modern sector (high wages, low fertility rate). The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of financial development on fertility for selected developed and developing countries. We employ generalized method of moment (GMM) model using annual data from 2005 to 2011. Our results found that financial development and fertility has inverse relationship for both developed and developing countries.

Female Labor Force Status and Couple's Marital Satisfaction: A Chinese Analysis.

While China has decreasing female labor participation and increasing marital instability, compared to the rest of the world, its female labor participation rate is higher on average. The effect of female labor force status on couples' marital satisfaction, as one of the main factors for evaluating marital quality, has been separately discussed, including extensive margins considering whether women are in the labor market and intensive margins on women working hours per week. This study analyzed data from the 2014 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) using a binary logit model and a stability test. Results showed that the work hours, rather than the occupational status, of women affect marital satisfaction. In addition, regardless of the gender role attitudes held by the couple, marital satisfaction increases when women are in the labor market. This study has retroactively reviewed the effects of women working outside the home on marital quality. The dual roles of Chinese women, as both employee and homemaker, have been socially accepted. However, the requirements of maintaining multiple roles often contradict and present conflicts among the roles, time, and pressure, in the long run, giving rise to marital dissatisfaction.

Review of research for two decades for women leadership in higher education around the world and in Vietnam: a comparative analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find the studies conducted on women leadership in higher education (WLHE) in the past 20 years to understand as to how the trend has changed over the past two decades around the world and particularly in Vietnam for women leaders in higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used a systematic review of 93 articles published in the past 20 years in WLHE. The articles were classified based on the country of research and the research methods used.FindingsThe study concluded that most of the research in WLHE had been done in the USA and Canada, with a dearth of literature on WLHE in Asia, and only six studies so far have been done in Vietnam, with only two studies being done before 2017. Vietnam is gaining importance in research in WLHE may be because of the increased female labour participation rate and growth in the gross domestic product.Practical implicationsThis study provided some recommendations at the societal, institutional and individual levels, which can help in women empowerment and help women take up the leadership roles.Originality/valueAlthough a variety of reviews have been conducted focusing on different areas in higher education, there is a small number of literature review studies in the field of women leaders in higher education, especially in Vietnam and Asia. Hence, the current study will add this missing part to the growing body of literature in WLHE.

A review of literature on women’s leadership in higher education in developed countries and in Vietnam: Barriers and enablers

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature on women’s leadership in higher education in the last 20 years. This literature review employed a systematic review of 64 articles published worldwide with 28 articles specifically published in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam. The aim of the study is to determine if there are any differences in barriers and enablers of women leaders between the developed countries chosen for this study and Vietnam in higher education and how the countries are progressing towards gender equality. The study concluded that most of the research in women’s leadership in higher education had been done in the US and Canada, with a dearth of literature on women’s leadership in higher education in Asia, and only six studies have been done in Vietnam till 2019, with only two studies done before 2017. The findings suggested that women leaders in developed countries and Vietnam still face almost the same challenges as in the past but, with family support, these challenges are becoming less in Vietnam. Mentor support was found to be an enabler in other developed countries which was missing in Vietnam. Vietnam is gaining importance in research in women’s leadership in higher education, which may be due to an increased female labour participation rate and higher growth in gross domestic product rates. The future of women leaders seems to be bright, especially in Vietnam, due to higher female educational attainment. There is a small number of literature review studies on barriers and enablers in the field of women leaders in higher education comparing developed nations and a developing country. Hence, the current study aims to fill this gap to provide an overview of the difference between the enablers and barriers faced by women leaders between developed countries and Vietnam.

Gendered Effects of COVID-19 in India : A Metanalysis

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, scientists are finding that men have higher morbidity and mortality as compared to women . However, when it comes to the indirect impact of COVID-19 the evidence is disturbingly skewed against women. The virus induced lockdown and social distancing requirements have paved the way for a staggering economic and social crisis while putting women in the frontline. Unprecedented number of people have lost jobs and with women at a 19% higher risk of losing jobs than men, many have termed this recession as a ‘shecession’. Women’s participation in the workforce is critical to ensure a full and fast recovery. This seems inconceivable in the case of India, taking into perspective the pre-pandemic female labour participation rate of only 23.6 percent. Women that already spent 577 percent more time in a day on housework than men are bearing the strain of increase in unpaid household work, paid work and being a learning coach to kids. Socially considered to be the primary caregivers, they are the first ones to lose out on paid work. Severe economic distress, confinement to home, and unemployment has given rise to a substantial increase in violence against women, post lockdown. Moreover, a large pre-existing gender digital divide in India has further exacerbated the problem of access to information and services. Only 29 percent of internet users in India are women. In today’s online learning and working reality, this has grave ramifications for female education, drop-out rate and employment. Experts are calling for targeted action to counter this gender-regressive scenario even while the Government’s response in this subject remains apathetic. Given this backdrop, the objective of this paper is to explore the gender aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of India and its impact on Indian economy and society. For this purpose this paper has analyzed the contributing socio-economic and cultural factors before and during the COVID-19 induced pandemic to get a holistic understanding.

Gender Differences in Retirement Behavior: How Family, Work, and Pension Regime Explain Retirement in Chile

AbstractWhile there is vast research on the Chilean pension system, its financial sustainability, and overall effects on the economy, the literature is scanter about gender differences in retirement and its determinants in the context of a high-income developing country with low rates of female labor market participation and less generous welfare provisions. This study seeks to address these gaps. Employing data from the Longitudinal Social Protection Survey (LSPS), we conduct survival analyses to (a) estimate differences in the risk of retirement between men and women, and to (b) investigate how the decision of retirement is influenced by family, work/socioeconomic factors, and pension regimes. Our analyses focused on the age of the first pension receipt. We carry out supplemental analyses on whether pension receipt leads to permanent exit from the labor market. Our results showed that women have a higher risk of receiving their first pension and retire earlier than men. We found that different work experiences prompt women to leave the labor market earlier than men. These results differ from prior research in developed countries that indicated that in countries with low female labor participation rates, women retire later than men.

The Impact of Female Labor Participation on Household Savings Rate

The high savings of Chinese families is a widely concerned issue. This paper attempts to explain the high savings of Chinese families from the perspective of female labor participation. Firstly, the relationship between female labor participation and household savings rate is theoretically discussed, and then an empirical test is conducted using the 2017 China Household Financial Survey data. In order to overcome the endogenous influence, the labor participation rate of other married women in the same community and the same age group is used as a tool variable for labor participation of married women in the family, and the influence of labor participation of married women on household savings rate is empirically tested. The results of the study show that labor participation of married women significantly increases household savings rates. Heterogeneity analysis found that married women’s labor participation had a significant impact on the 20- to 30-year-old female family, university and higher education levels, and the savings rate of families who would like be with two children. Further research found that married women’s labor participation in promoting the increase in household savings rate is due to a significant increase in household income levels, while household consumption levels have not changed significantly. At the same time, the current female labor participation did not significantly reduce the family’s preventive saving motivation, but further increased the household savings rate. This paper provides a new perspective for understanding the high savings of Chinese families and can provide a reference for future policy development.

The comparative economics of financial access in gender economic inclusion

PurposeThe study has investigated the comparative importance of financial access in promoting gender inclusion in African countries.Design/methodology/approachGender inclusion is proxied by the female labour participation rate while financial channels include: financial system deposits and private domestic credit. The empirical evidence is based on non-contemporary fixed effects regressions.FindingsIn order to provide more implications on comparative relevance, the dataset is categorised into income levels (middle income versus (vs.) low income); legal origins (French civil law vs. English common law); religious domination (Islam vs. Christianity); openness to sea (coastal vs. landlocked); resource-wealth (oil-poor vs. oil-rich) and political stability (stable vs. unstable). Six main hypotheses are tested, notably, that middle income, English common law, Christianity, coastal, oil-rich and stable countries enjoy better levels of “financial access”-induced gender inclusion compared to respectively, low income, French civil law, Islam, landlocked, oil-poor and unstable countries. All six tested hypotheses are validated.Originality/valueThis is the first study on the comparative importance of financial access in gender economic participation.

The Factors Determining the Female Labor Participation Rates: A Regional Approach

Bu çalışmanın amacı İBBS Düzey 2 kapsamında yer alan 26 bölgede kaba boşanma oranları, eğitim düzeyi, erkek işsizlik oranları ve kişi başına düşen gelirin kadınların işgücüne katılım oranları üzerindeki etkisini analiz etmektir. 2004-2017 dönemini kapsayan çalışmada dinamik panel veri analizi kullanılmıştır. Analizden elde edilen sonuçlara göre kişi başına düşen GSYİH, eğitim düzeyi ve boşanma oranları ile kadınların işgücüne katılım oranları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ve pozitif bir ilişki vardır. Kişi başına düşen gelir düzeyindeki % 1’lik artış, kadınların işgücüne katılım oranlarını % 0.29 artırırken, üniversite mezunu kadın sayısındaki artış, kadınların işgücüne katılım oranlarını % 0.44 artırmaktadır. Boşanma oranlarındaki % 1’lik artışın ise kadınların işgücüne katılım oranlarını % 0.40 arttırdığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca erkeklerin işsizlik oranları ile kadınların işgücüne katılım oranları arasında negatif ve istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Buna göre erkeklerin işsizlik oranlarındaki yüzde 1'lik artış, kadınların işgücüne katılım oranlarını yüzde 0.39 oranında azalmaktadır.

The Nexus of Economic Growth, Education, Fertility Rate and Female Labour Supply: Empirical Evidence in Malaysia

Malaysia, a fast-growing developing country in Asia, has envisioned Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 to become a developed economy with high income via sustainable and inclusive economic growth by the year 2030. To accomplish this vision, female labour participation is needed as the female population constitutes almost half of Malaysia’s total population. However, female labour participation rate is way lower than Malaysia’s overall labour force participation rate.The relatively low female labour participation rate can be a barrier to Malaysia’s economic development and thus the realization of its goal of a high income nation.Therefore, this paper makes an attempt to examine empirically the long-run causal association among female labour force participation, economic growth, education, and fertility rate. The interrelationships among the variables are examined using the bounds test and Toda-Yamamoto granger non-causality methodology. The result of the study indicates a strong evidence of long-run relationship among the variables. Besides, we have found a significant inverted-U-shaped association linking the female labour force participation to the economic growth in Malaysia. The results of Granger causality tests further confirm that there is a strong evidence of bidirectional causality from education to economic growth as well as female labour participation. Besides, the results also show significant unidirectional causality from female labour force participation and fertility to economic growth.

STUDI JUMLAH ANAK YANG DIINGINKAN DALAM PERSPEKTIF MAKRO SOSIO-EKONOMI DI INDONESIA

Having a lot of children requires costs for fulfilling clothes, food, health, education and entertainment needs. Nowadays, families put more consideration at the value of children in terms of quality, not just quantity. The value of children is related to the number of children desired that mainly influenced by micro-level factors in the household. Nevertheless, there are indications that macro socio-economic factors also influence the number of desired fertility. This study uses correlation analysis to see the relationship between the average number of wanted children and macro variables such as contraceptive use, human development index (HDI), income per capita, proportion of poor population, age of first marriage, expenditure per capita per year, and woman’s work participation. The results show that the variables of contraceptive use, HDI, percentage of poor people, expenditure per capita, and female labour participation rate are statistically proven to affect the average number of desired children, while the variable income per capita and age at first marriage are not statistically significant. This study argued that the number of desired children is not only influenced by household micro variables but also socio-economic macro variables.