Female Labor Force Participation Research Articles

Spouses’ earnings association and inequality: A non-linear perspective

We analyze the association between spouses’ earnings taking account of non-linearities along both spouses’ distribution of earnings. We also document the non-linearity of the relationships between earnings and labor force participation, earnings and couple formation, and earnings and number of children. Using simulations, we then analyze how changes in spouses’ rank-dependence structure, labor force participation and couple formation contribute to the upsurge in inequality in the U.S between 1967 and 2018. We find that an increased tendency towards positive sorting contributed substantially to the rise in inequality only among dual-earner couples, while it contributed little to overall inequality across households. Temporal and distributional heterogeneity are important, as earnings association had a more substantial role in the bottom of the earnings distribution and in recent years. The decline in couple formation contributed substantially to the rise in inequality, while the increase in female labor force participation and the fertility decline had equalizing effects.

Where does public childcare boost female labor force participation? Exploring geographical heterogeneity across Germany 2007–2017

Public childcare provision and female labor force participation (FLP) have strongly increased over the past decades in European societies. However, studies offer heterogeneous findings on the link between public childcare and FLP.

Female employment and first childbirth in Italy: what news?

In the last decades, female participation in the labour market has been found to be increasingly associated with higher fertility levels in high-income countries—albeit to a lesser extent in countries characterised by poor welfare support to working mothers. Among the latter camp, Italy is an intriguing case study, which is marked by lower female labour force participation and fertility rates when compared to most other European countries. Recent macro-level evidence suggests that a reverse in the female employment/fertility relationship is gradually taking place in Italy, driven largely by the Northern regions. However, the evolution of the relationship between female employment and fertility has (to the best of my knowledge) never been addressed at the micro-level. Through the use of individual-level retrospective data, this study analyses the link between female employment and fertility, paying special attention to differences between Northern and Southern Italy, and its evolution over time. The results suggest that female employment began to be positively associated to fertility at the individual level, both in Northern and Southern Italy (although to slightly different extents), from 2010 onwards.

Does Globalization Encourage Female Employment? A Cross-Country Panel Study

The objective of the paper is to examine whether female participation in the labor force (FPLF) is influenced by a country’s participation in international markets through foreign direct investment (FDI)—a proxy for globalization. We obtained a panel dataset from the World Development Indicators database for 99 countries from 2001 to 2018, and used the system generalized method of moments (system GMM) to estimate a dynamic panel model with appropriate specification tests. The results show that FDI encourages FPLF to some extent, but the positive effects are more robust for low- and middle-income countries than high-income countries. We also found that results are sensitive to extreme outlier observations in the explanatory factor FDI. These results have important policy implications for low- and middle-income countries; they recommend a focus on sectors that generate higher FDI, as these sectors stand to yield the greatest benefits with regards to female labor force participation.

Part-Time Employment in the Breadwinner Era: Dutch Employers’ Initiatives to Control Female Labor Force Participation, 1945–1970

In the 1950s, part-time work gradually became an element of labor policy to activate women to participate in the labor market that could be transferred from one country to another. Support of part-time employment in the Dutch labor market, however, was initially not endorsed as a solution to the problem of low female labor force participation but was the outcome of a more complex set of deliberations, in which the moral economy of employers’ organizations conflicted with broader demands for increased productivity. The article contrasts the initial concerns of Dutch employers about increasing women’s labor force participation with the country’s later international role in advocating part-time work for married women on an international scale. The Netherlands thereby serves as a case study of how employers’ organizations instrumentalized part-time employment for their own moral economy based in the breadwinner ideology.

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.

Labour force participation and unemployment rate: does discouraged worker effect hypothesis or unemployment invariance hypothesis hold in Africa?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the existence of discouraged worker effect hypothesis and unemployment invariance hypothesis in Africa, including its five regional groups. Specifically, the study tests the existence of co-integration between different categories of labour force participation and unemployment rate, total male and female labour force participation and the unemployment rate for age brackets 15–24, 15–64 and 15+, respectively.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses the data of 52 countries in Africa which cover the period from 1991 to 2018. Three co-integration estimation techniques namely, the Kao co-integration test, Pedroni co-integration test and Westerlund co-integration test are used to validate the existence of co-integration between the labour force participation and unemployment rate. The dynamic ordinary least square is further used to explore the impact of the unemployment rate on labour force participation, while the pooled ordinary least squares (POLS) that accounts for individual country and time effects is employed for robustness check.FindingsExcept for Southern Africa, it is found that the discouraged worker effect hypothesis holds in Africa and the rest of its regions. This suggests that there is a long-run relationship between labour force participation rate and unemployment rate irrespective of age group and gender classifications. To some extent, the authors discover the existence of cross-sectional dependence in the panel. There is also an inverse relationship between labour force participation and the unemployment rate. This implies that when the unemployment rate is high, labour force participation tends to decline. The results are, however, sensitive to the choice of estimation method.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to the examination of linear co-integration between labour force participation and the unemployment rate in Africa and its five regions. The future study can investigate the possibility of a nonlinear or an asymmetric relationship between labour for participation and the unemployment rate.Social implicationsThus, a policy framework that would generate employment creation is greatly required in Africa.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a pioneer work that addresses the issue of co-integration between labour force participation and unemployment rate for Africa and its five regions taking into consideration gender and age brackets of labour force participation and unemployment.

Female labour force participation rate and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa: “a liability or an asset”

PurposeThis paper aimed examining the contribution of female labour force participation rate on economic growth in the sub-Saharan Africa during the period of 1991–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a sample of 42 sub-Sahara African countries using annual data from the World Bank development indicators. The long-run causal effect of female labour force and economic growth was analysed using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model and Granger causality test for causality and direction since the variables did not have the same order of integration.FindingsThe estimated results indicate that a long-run causal relationship exists between female labour force and economic growth in sub-Sahara Africa and the direction of causality is unidirectional running from economic growth to female labour force. The results also showed that female labour force participation rate negatively and significantly contributes to economic growth (GDP) is sub-Saharan Africa in the long run with an insignificantly negative contribution in the short run hence a liability.Research limitations/implicationsThe author recommends the promotion of women's economic empowerment to encourage female labour force participation to increase economic growth in the entire sub-Saharan region.Practical implicationsThis paper adds to existing literature by using more comprehensive and up to econometric analysis and variables. This paper also makes further recommendation on how female labour force participation can boost economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Originality/valueThis paper adds to existing literature by using more comprehensive and up to econometric analysis and variables. This paper also makes further recommendation on how female labour force participation can boost economic growth in SSA.

The effects of the Arab Spring on female labour force participation in the MENA region

AbstractThe Arab Spring (AS) event characterized the recent history of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It brought about various economic, political, and social conditions and transformations that affected women's well‐being and their status and participation in the labour market. Accordingly, this paper examines the short‐run and the long‐run effects of the AS on female labour force participation (FLFP) rates in the MENA region. The empirical analysis is implemented through the generalized method of moments (GMM) system estimator for dynamic panel models, using the basic (one‐step) and the two‐step approaches over different empirical specifications. The benchmark empirical results show that the AS is associated with moderate average increases in FLFP rates in the MENA region. The empirical analysis subsequently emphasizes significant variations and distinct patterns in the AS effects on FLFP rates across MENA countries, and it ties these findings to the AS‐related economic, political and social circumstances in these countries.

Addressing Declining Female Labor Force Participation in India: Does Political Empowerment Make a Difference?

Despite income growth, fertility decline, and educational expansion, female labour force participation in rural India dropped precipitously over the last decade. Nation-wide individual-level data allow us to explore if random reservation of village leadership for females affected women’s access to job opportunities, their demand for participation in the labour force, and income as well as intra-household bargaining in the short-and medium term. Gender reservation of local leadership affected female but not male participation in public works and regular labour markets, their income, and their influence on key household decisions with a lag, suggesting that such reservation affected social norms and stereotypes.

Historical episodes and their legacies across space: A famous case revisited

AbstractThere is a growing amount of literature in economic geography showing that historical episodes can leave long‐lasting cultural and institutional legacies across space. For credibly identifying such persistent effects the analyses should not pick up trends preceding the respective episodes. Against this background, the paper re‐examines the famous case of the German division and reunification. The empirical focus is on the persistent mark‐up of women in work in East relative to West German regions that are often associated with legacy effects of the socialist regime that was in place in East Germany during the country's four decades of division. In contrast to the conventional wisdom in academia, policy, and the public, the current paper shows that the higher share of working women in East German regions is not due to a legacy of socialism. Female labor force participation was already remarkably higher in the East before the introduction of socialism. The general lesson is that any attempt to explain spatial variation in individual decision‐making by persisting institutional and cultural legacies of certain historical episodes needs to assess regional conditions predating these episodes.

The unemployment–labor force participation linkage in Iran’s women labor market

PurposeDuring recent years, the long-run relationship between the unemployment rate (UR) and the labor force participation (LFP) rate has been examined in-depth in developed and developing economies. This paper aims to explore this relationship for Iranian women in 31 provinces from 2005Q2 to 2019Q1.Design/methodology/approachTo examine the existence of a long-run relationship between female LFP and UR, the time-series cointegration approach has been used. Furthermore, regarding the low power of the univariate cointegration approach, the authors consider a panel version of the cointegration tests developed by Westerlund.FindingsBoth time-series cointegration tests and panel cointegration test support the unemployment invariance hypothesis for most Iranian provinces, especially the most religious ones. As it implies an invariance to supply side policies, it seems that reducing legal and cultural barriers could be more relevant to decrease female UR and increase LFP than training programs or R&D policies. The present results also suggest that, for this group of regions, a more centralized policy design could be appropriate, instead of a regional one.Originality/valueThis study investigates whether the unemployment invariance hypothesis holds for Iran, which has not been analyzed before for the Iranian labor market. Moreover, the study adopts a regional approach, which takes into account the huge regional differences in Iran.

Female Labour Force Participation in India: An Empirical Study

Female Labour Force Participation in India: An Empirical Study

Demographic change and economic growth: The role of natural resources in the MENA region

This paper analyses the conditional effect of demographic change on economic development in the MENA region. We employ fixed-effects panel analysis on data from 19 countries in the region and demonstrate a negative impact of natural rents on the relationship between the working-age population and economic growth. Once the critical level of approximately 16% of resource rents (as share in total GDP) is reached, a one-unit increase in working-age population appears to harm economic growth. Further tests show that this finding is mainly driven by the negative effects of resource rents on female labor force participation. However, other drivers are a large public sector, low private sector development and inefficient labor market policies and issues such as the “Dutch disease”. The main finding remains after robustness checks in the form of controlling for competing hypotheses. Policy makers are advised to encourage economic diversification, female employment and private sector development.

Understanding the Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Women

Compared with previous recessions, the recession induced by COVID-19 had a greater impact on women's employment and labor force participation relative to men. But the big divide was less between men and women than it was between the more and the less educated. Contrary to many accounts, women did not exit the labor force in large numbers, and they did not greatly decrease their hours of work. The aggregate female labor force participation rate did not plummet. That said, the ability to balance caregiving and work differed greatly by education, occupation, and race. The more educated could work from home. Those who began the period employed in various in-person service occupations and establishments experienced large reductions in employment. Black women experienced a more negative impact beyond other factors considered, and the health impact of COVID-19 is a probable reason. The estimation of the pandemic's impact depends on the counterfactual used. The real story of women during the pandemic is that employed women who were educating their children and working adult daughters who were caring for their parents were stressed because they were in the labor force, not because they left.

The impact of sexual violence on female labour force participation: The case of Hurungwe and Zvimba Districts, Zimbabwe

The impact of sexual violence on female labour force participation: The case of Hurungwe and Zvimba Districts, Zimbabwe

Does development deter crime against women? Panel evidence from India

PurposeThis paper investigates the deterrence effect of development on crime against women in India. Specifically, the authors examine the deterrence effect of the composite development index, i.e. Human Development Index (HDI), along with other variables acting as development indicators such as women’s employment, the relative strength of women in the police force, urbanization, etc., on crimes against women.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a fixed effect within-group (WG) panel regression model and pooled regression model on the data of 28 states over 20 years from 2000 to 2019. For checking the robustness of the results, the authors use the estimation from the system generalized method of moments.FindingsThe results confirm the deterrence effect of development as measured by the HDI and female labor force participation on various crimes against women. In addition, female feticide representing the socio-cultural attitude toward women turned out to be another significant determinant of almost all types of crime against women. Further, the study also finds the deterrence effect of variables such as police expenditure, the relative strength of women in the police force, urbanization and arrest rate on various crimes against women.Originality/valueThis research paper is unique because it tries to examine the deterrence hypothesis of development by taking a composite index of development, i.e. HDI and other variables at the state level in the Indian union.

The Slovak Long-Term Care System

Declining relative size of the working-age population, decreasing family-based care supply due to higher female labor force participation, and reduced family size will increase the demand and cost of long-term care (LTC). Governments in European countries have responded differently to these challenges.

The hidden economy in Jordan: A MIMIC approach

This paper uses the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) approach to determine the annual size and growth of the hidden economy in Jordan for the period 1980–2018. We find that the key causal variables of the hidden economy in Jordan are: female labor force participation, the inflation rate, the unemployment rate, total tax revenue, and the budget deficit. The growth of these causal variables increases Jordan’s hidden economy. According to our findings, the estimated average of the hidden economy from 1980 to 2018 is 17.6% of the official GDP. Thus, it comprises a large portion of the official GDP. Furthermore, our results suggest an increase in the size of Jordan’s hidden economy from 11.8% in 1980 to 22.4% in 2018. The overall results can assist policymakers in Jordan to combat and reduce the size of the hidden economy.

Does an Empirical Economic Relation Have a Life?

Does an Empirical Economic Relation Have a Life?