Female Labor Force Participation Research Articles

Economic growth, gender inequality, openness of trade, and female labour force participation: a nonlinear ARDL approach

Economic growth, gender inequality, openness of trade, and female labour force participation: a nonlinear ARDL approach

The Effect of Working Mother on Children’s Cognitive Achievement

Children's cognitive is the main role in increasing human capital. Female labor force participation is important not only for supporting economic growth but also for human capital. Moreover, female labor force participation can reduce the income gap based on gender and it gives women opportunity to increase their skills. Workers in the informal sector are more dominant than a worker in the formal sector in almost developing countries, especially women who are already married. Therefore, the effect of female labor participation is still on debated. This research aims to know the different effects of working mothers based on the formal and informal sectors on children’s cognitive development. This study is using IFLS 2, IFLS 3, IFLS 4, and IFLS 5. The sample is mother who have children aged 0-3 years old. Children’s cognitive is measured by national examination scores in Elementary school and Junior High school. Moreover, this study used a fixed-effect method to reduce the bias effect. The result shows that working mother in the formal sector affects children cognitively higher than children with working mother in the informal sector. Working mother in the formal sector has a higher impact on the short-term than long-term. Caused by mother education in the formal sector is higher than working mothers in the informal sector. Moreover, a working mother can be alleviated maternal education which means a higher maternal education can increase children's cognitive. Although maternal education has a higher impact when children are in elementary school and it tends to decrease when children are in Junior high school. Several children have a negative and significant effect on children's cognition but birth order has a positive and significant effect on children cognitive.

Crime against Women in India: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis

Using the National Crime Record Bureau and National Sample Survey data, this article explores the spatial patterns of different types of crime against women (CAW) in India. To explain these spatial patterns, we use spatial panel data regression techniques that account for spatial dependencies between different CAW and their socio-economic predictors at the NSS-region level. The results show that different types of CAW have different time-consistent spatial clustering of high and low crime zone. Evidence has been found that the prevalence of CAW in a region is influenced by the CAW rate of its neighboring regions. This influence is linked to the spatial diffusion of harmful gender norms that spread across contiguous regions over time. Our results also confirm the importance of various women empowerment-related variables like female literacy rate, sex ratio, and female labor force participation rate in reducing the violence against women. These findings could have significant implications for the policies aiming to reduce CAW.

Origin-country gender norms, individual work experience, and employment among immigrant women in Sweden

Many Western countries are built on a dual-earner model and have high levels of female labor force participation. Increasing the labor market activity of immigrant women is therefore seen as a key part of immigrant integration. However, female labor force participation (LFP) differs substantially between countries, reflecting differences in work-related gender norms that can continue to influence preferences and behaviors after migration. In this study, we investigate how origin-country gender norms and migrant selection interact to produce post-migration outcomes. Our data shows that immigrant women in Sweden have a higher level of pre-migration work experience than expected based on origin-country female LFP, indicating positive selection. Furthermore, the association between origin-country LFP and post-migration employment varied with work experience. For women without origin-country work experience, origin-country LFP was positively associated with employment in Sweden. For women with origin-country work experience, origin-country LFP however was not associated with higher likelihood of employment in Sweden. Though our focus is on immigrant women, we also include immigrant men in our analysis to test our prediction more thoroughly. For men without origin-country work experience, origin-country LFP was negatively associated with employment in Sweden, while we found no association for men with origin-country work experience. Our results show that migrant selection is a crucial factor in understanding the relationship between origin-country LFP and post-migration labor market outcomes, and that these patterns vary with gender. Policy interventions targeting immigrant women from countries with low female LFP should therefore not assume that women arrive socialized with gender-norms that hinder labor market activity.

Human Capital, Female Employment, and Electricity: Evidence from the Early 20th-Century United States

Abstract This paper revisits the link between electrification and the rise in female labour force participation (LFP), and presents theoretical and empirical evidence showing that electrification triggered a rise in female LFP by increasing market opportunities for skilled women. I formalize my theory in an overlapping generations model and find that my mechanism explains one quarter of the rise in female LFP during the rollout of electricity in the U.S. (1880–1940), and matches the slow decline in female home production hours during this period. I then present micro-evidence supporting my theory using newly digitized data on the early electrification of the U.S.

The role of mothers on female labour force participation: an approach using historical parish records

Using Portuguese parish data from 1675 to 1925, we estimate the relationship between a mother’s participation in the labour force and that of her daughter. We adapt a methodology to prevent bias that originates from potentially non-random missing data. Ignoring the missingness process results in substantial downward-biased estimates of the relationship, even for a proportion of missing values as low as 20 per cent. In contrast, our methodology yields unbiased estimates regardless of the proportion of missing values. We document the existence of a strong, positive association between the mother’s participation and that of her daughter long before the twentieth century’s substantial changes in education and the labour market

Causal Relationship Between Female Labor Force Participation Rate and Total Fertility Rate: An Empirical Evidence from Mena Countries

Causal Relationship Between Female Labor Force Participation Rate and Total Fertility Rate: An Empirical Evidence from Mena Countries

Female representation at the national level and women sport volunteering in European countries

AbstractThis study examines the moderating effects of national female labor force participation, women in sport leadership positions, and female medalists in recent Olympic Games on women's probability to volunteer in sport. Based on social role theory and the similarity attraction paradigm, we predict that all three factors result in a higher probability of women to volunteer in sport, but with differences among age groups. Linear probability models before and after applying coarsened exact matching were estimated using data from the 2017 Eurobarometer (n = 18,529). The results show that women have a significantly lower probability to volunteer in sport in countries with high female labor force participation and a high share of women in leadership positions in sport organizations. The likelihood of women volunteering in sport is significantly higher in countries with a high share of female Olympic medalists. The age group‐specific analysis asking whether volunteering should be considered an investment in human capital by younger women and/or an acquisition of social capital by older women, reveals that a high presence of women among leaders in sport organizations and Olympic medalists is significantly positively correlated with the probability for young women to volunteer in sport. Managers and leaders of nonprofit sport organizations learn from our study that volunteering should be perceived as an investment in human capital by younger women rather than an attempt to acquire social capital by older women.

You will take care of me when I am old: Norms on children’s caregiver obligations - An analysis with data from the European Values Study

Objective: We explore gender differences in support of the norm that children must provide care for their parents. Background: Society's values and norms play a crucial role in deciding whether to provide family care. We investigate these values and norms on family care by analyzing which individual and country level factors affect them. Method: We use data from the European Values Study wave 5 and multilevel regression techniques. The question, "Adult children have the duty to provide long-term care for their parents", serves as our dependent variable. The explanatory variables at the individual level are gender and further socio-demographic variables. At the country level, we include expenditures on health care, and the female labor force participation rate. Results: The results show that women, as well as those living in countries with high expenditure on health care and high female labor force participation rates, are less supportive of the norm that children have an obligation to provide care for their parents. Furthermore, the gender effect is stronger in countries with a higher female labor force participation rate. Conclusion: Norms and values on family care are not fixed and can change, as suggested by the differences between countries. They are also not shared by all social groups equally, as the differences between women and men and along other socio-demographics show.

More Rights but Less Gains: Relaxed Birth Control Policy and the Loss for Women

AbstractIn view of its aging population, China initiated in 2012 a relaxed birth control policy after a three‐decades‐long implementation of the restrictive one‐child policy. This paper examines how China's relaxed birth control policy leads to gender inequality. It specifically focuses on migrant workers because they account for a significant portion of the working group. Using the National Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey from 2014 to 2016, we found that China's two‐child pilot policy reduced female labor force participation by 1.4 percentage points. This negative effect was more pronounced for women with higher educational levels or working in the private sector because employers foresee greater risks of productivity decline. We demonstrated that the gender pay gap increased from RMB956 to RMB1,053 during this same period. Pinpointing these unintended consequences brought about by the relaxation of the one‐child policy helps provide a more complete picture of inequality and make sense of persistent relative poverty in Chinese society. To counteract gender discrimination, females are advised to work outside their home jurisdictions and take advantage of positive peer effects.

The Great Resignation in the United States: A Study of Labor Market Segmentation

During 2021 and 2022, many news media outlets have reported that millions of workers in the United States have been quitting their jobs in record numbers. In a global economy rebounding from the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 outbreak and demanding more workers, a high rate of resignations has exacerbated labor shortages and may be aggravating unemployment and underemployment rates if many workers are not participating at all in the labor force or only working part time. Many reasons have been offered to explain this ‘Great Resignation’ including high day care costs for working parents that may in turn be causing the trend of lower female labor force participation; the supposed ‘liberating’ experience of not working at all or to work from home instead of having to work from one’s usual work place during the Covid-19 quarantine/lockdown periods; stagnant/low wages and greater job tenure uncertainty which make working less attractive and more stressful; and the feeling by many of not wanting to work further for bad bosses or management who create bad work environments so that resignation becomes a means of escape from such conditions. This article analyses data of US labor trends since 2003 and demonstrates that resignations have been trending upward in the US aggregate economy and that quit rates mostly have been trending higher within many US industries. These phenomena can be explained by the concept of labor market segmentation, high unemployment, and underemployment rates that exist even in good economic times in some industries, minority group composition within industries, wage stagnation, and type of managerial supervision. Some of these same factors help to explain labor under-utilization greater than national/aggregate rates within these industries as well.

The Early Rise of Female Consciousness and Long-Term Female Labor Force Participation

In traditional culture, the gender concepts of “men dominating outside the home and women dominating inside the home” have a profound impact on the orientation of female social roles. The intergenerational transmission of these concepts may be an important reason for the low rate of contemporary female labor force participation (FLFP). Based on the publication of female periodicals during the period of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China and the survey data of China Family Panel Studies in 2010, this article finds that the awakening of early female independent consciousness and the breaking of feudal gender concepts are conducive to improving the employability of contemporary women. Research results show that FLFP rate is generally higher in regions where more female periodicals are issued from 1840 to 1949. The reason may be that the general promotion of female human capital and intergenerational transmission of concepts of equality may have important explanatory power as well as enhancement of marital quality. This article provides new evidence for the role of attitudes for local development stated by Max Weber.

The impact of women’s labor resources on economic growth in Uzbekistan

One of the main economic and social wealth of Uzbekistan is its people. Although policymaker pay the special attention at the gender equality in almost every aspect of our lives, we still have gender bias in our labor market. The current study empirically investigated the relationship between female labor force participation and economic prosperity of the country. The paper implemented Granger casualty test to define which variable causes to change another variable amongst the gathered secondary data, after it employed Last Squares method to define the long term relationship amongst variables such as GDP, female labor force participation rates (FLFPR), fertility rates, female unemployment rates, female higher educational attainment and women in business and law index. The study showed that GDP influences the tribulations in rates of female labor force participation, and not on the contrary. Meanwhile, OLS regression gave a negative output of the correlations amongst GDP, Female Unemployment Rate, and Female in Business and Law Index regarding to the FLFPR. The significance of Women in Business and Law index is insignificant. In contrast the long term positive relationship is defined among fertility rate and higher education attainment with FLFPR. But in case of fertility rates the variable is insignificant.

Female labour force participation and fertility in Italian history

Female labour force participation and fertility in Italian history

Social Norms and Female Labor Force Participation in Bangladesh: The Role of Social Expectations and Reference Networks

Social Norms and Female Labor Force Participation in Bangladesh: The Role of Social Expectations and Reference Networks

Role of Female Labour Participation in Reducing Income Inequality in ECOWAS Sub-Region

This study examined the nexus between female labour participation and income inequality in ECOWAS sub-region between 1990 and 2019. Consequently, Panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and Pairwise Panel Causality techniques were used to estimate the objective of the study. The findings from this study are summarized as follows; two (2) of the three (3) indicators of female labour participation- labour participation rate and female employment in service showed a positive and significant relationship with income inequality in ECOWAS sub region. In addition, no feedback relationship exists between any indicators of female labour participation and income inequality in ECOWAS sub region. Meanwhile, a bidirectional causality exists between female educational enrolment and female employment in the service sector. Also, female educational enrolment Granger causes female labour force participation. In the light of the above findings, the following recommendations were offered for the policy makers in ECOWAS sub region and African policymakers, at any time the goal of these policymakers is reduction of income inequality, the labour market policy should be structured in such a way that will give preference to women in the recruitment process. Also, the policymakers should prioritize giving of scholarship to female folks, this will drive a rise in female education enrolment. As such, more educated women will participate in the labour market and consequently earn more income, thereby leading to the reduction in income inequality.

Study of the Socio-Economic Analysis of Females Role in Eastern part of Indonesia

It is very crucial to involve women in a development, especially in developing countries. It will be more successful if it has the support from men and women to increase gender equality and reduce inequality. Females are the human resources that play a role in the development and gender empowerment. The role can be measured by GEM (Gender Empowerment Measure). This research determined the socio-economic role of females in Eastern Indonesia in terms of education, health, employment, and politics. This study utilizes some variables including : Mean Year of Female School , Female Life Expectancy, Female Labor Force Participation Rate, and Female Representation in Parliament Rates. This research uses panel data regression and the Fixed Effect Model method. Secondary macro data are shared from BPS from 2013 to 2020. It can be concluded that this study indicates the mean year female school, female life expectancy, female labor force participation rate, and female representation in parliament rate have a positive and significant effect partially and simultaneously on the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) in Eastern Indonesia.

Women Empowerment-Economic Development Nexus: Bangladesh and Vietnam in Comparative Perspective

This study aims to highlight the bidirectional relationship between women’s empowerment and economic development in Bangladesh (South Asia) and Vietnam (Southeast Asia). The study investigates the U-shaped hypothesis for both countries to figure out the impact of economic development on women’s empowerment. With an econometric approach, the research runs the regression model by the Pooled Regression, Fixed Effect, and Random Effect models with Panel data from (1991-2019) to estimate the impact of women’s empowerment on economic development. Female labor force participation rate and Real GDP per capita are used as the proxy indicator of women’s empowerment and economic development respectively. In the regression model, Real GDP per capita is used as the dependent variable, and the female labor force participation rate as the independent variable. Fertility rate, Mortality rate, and Female employment to population ratio are used as controlled variables. The study demonstrates women's empowerment through the Human Development Index and Global Gender Gap Index. In Global Gender Gap Index, Vietnam is ahead in economic participation and opportunity (sub-index), and educational attainment (sub-index), whereas Bangladesh leads in health and survival (sub-index), and political empowerment (sub-index). However, the regression result shows that the female labor force participation rate, fertility rate, and mortality rate have a negative significance on economic development, whereas the female employment to population ratio has a positive significance on economic development in Bangladesh and Vietnam. The existing U-shape in Vietnam proves that women empowerment and economic development nexus is commendable whereas an upward pattern, not a U-shape exists in Bangladesh.

The Relationship between Fertility and Female Participation in the Labour Force in OECD Countries 2000–2020: It Is (Again) Negative

Abstract The cross-sectional association between female labour force participation rates and fertility in developed countries shifted from negative to positive during the 1980s. Ever since then, researchers have applied different statistical approaches; therefore, the present study re-evaluates the results by applying a distinct strategy to the data from 2000 to 2020 for 32 countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Specifically, the data analysis discussed here implemented the so-called „unified“ model, thereby extending the analysis beyond the limitations of the fixed effects (FE) method; namely, by decomposing coefficients within (time-series) and between (cross-sectional) countries‘ effects, the study increased the explanatory power of our statistical model on the relation between fertility level and female labour force participation rate. Eventually, the selected statistical approach has shown the potential to offer a better interpretation of results in comparison to previous studies. Finally, this study confirmed the persistence of a negative trend in a time-series association between labour force participation and fertility.

Segregated Economies in an Integrated World: The Gendered Consequences of Exchange Rate Movements in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

AbstractI argue that exchange rates are an underappreciated explanation for the significant variation in the extent of female labor force participation in developing countries. Occupational segregation in developing countries is such that women working outside of the home tend to be segregated in labor-intensive export-oriented industries. Consequently, when an overvalued exchange rate increases export prices, it reduces commensurately the demand for female labor. This causes some women to drop out of the labor force. Data from over 150 low- and middle-income countries between 1990 and 2015 support this argument.