Economic Development and Female Labor Participation in the Middle East and North Africa : A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis
The Middle East and North Africa region is known for having low female labor market participation rates as compared with its level of economic development. A possible explanation is that these countries find themselves at the turning point of the U...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/06/19686510/economic-development-female-labor-participation-middle-east-north-africa-test-u-shape-hypothesis http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18783 |
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okr-10986-187832021-04-23T14:03:49Z Economic Development and Female Labor Participation in the Middle East and North Africa : A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis Verme, Paolo ADULT WOMEN AGE GROUP AGE GROUPS AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AGRICULTURE BARGAINING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS CHANGES IN FERTILITY DECLINE IN FERTILITY DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DIVERSIFICATION DIVISION OF LABOUR DRIVERS ECONOMETRICS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC HISTORY ECONOMIC SHOCKS EDUCATED WOMEN EDUCATION OF WOMEN EQUATIONS FAMILY FARMS FAMILY SIZE FEMALE EDUCATION FEMALE EMPLOYMENT FEMALE LABOR FEMALE LABOR FORCE FEMALE PARTICIPATION FERTILITY FERTILITY RATE FERTILITY RATES FUTURE RESEARCH GDP GDP PER CAPITA GENDER EQUALITY GENDER GAP GENDER NORMS GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA HOUSEHOLD CHORES HUMAN CAPITAL INCOME EFFECT INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION JOBLESS GROWTH JOBS LABOR DEMAND LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LABOR MARKET LABOR MOBILITY LABOR SUPPLY LABORERS MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE MARRIAGE AGE MARRIED WOMEN MORTALITY NATURAL RESOURCE NATURAL RESOURCES OCCUPATIONS OUTPUTS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POVERTY REDUCTION PREGNANCIES PREVIOUS RESULTS PREVIOUS SECTION PROGRESS PURCHASING POWER PURCHASING POWER PARITY REGIONAL FACTORS REGIONAL GROUPING REGIONAL LEVEL REGIONAL PATTERN REGIONAL PERFORMANCE RURAL AREAS SECONDARY EDUCATION SOCIAL SCIENCE STRUCTURAL CHANGE STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION SUBSTITUTION EFFECT UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYED FEMALES UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATES UNPAID WORKERS URBAN AREAS VALUE ADDED WAGES WEALTH WOMAN WORKER WORLD REGIONS The Middle East and North Africa region is known for having low female labor market participation rates as compared with its level of economic development. A possible explanation is that these countries find themselves at the turning point of the U-shape hypothesis when countries transition from declining to rising female participation rates. This paper tests the U-shape hypothesis in countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It finds that the region has outperformed other world regions in terms of the main drivers of the U-shape hypothesis, including gross domestic product per capita, economic transformation away from the agricultural sector, female education, and fertility rates. These facts are consistent with nonparametric evidence that shows countries in the region are distributed over a U-shaped curve. However, parametric tests of the hypothesis point in a different direction. The region shows an inverted U-shape overall and great heterogeneity across countries and age cohorts that defies any law on the relation between gross domestic product and female participation rate. The explanation behind these findings may be economic and cultural. Jobless growth and the lack of growth in employment sectors such as manufacturing and services, which proved critical for female employment in other countries, weaken labor demand and strengthen the role of institutions that may discourage female participation, such as marriage, legislation, and gender norms. 2014-06-26T20:15:53Z 2014-06-26T20:15:53Z 2014-06 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/06/19686510/economic-development-female-labor-participation-middle-east-north-africa-test-u-shape-hypothesis http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18783 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6927 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Middle East and North Africa North Africa Middle East |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
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Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
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World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
ADULT WOMEN AGE GROUP AGE GROUPS AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AGRICULTURE BARGAINING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS CHANGES IN FERTILITY DECLINE IN FERTILITY DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DIVERSIFICATION DIVISION OF LABOUR DRIVERS ECONOMETRICS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC HISTORY ECONOMIC SHOCKS EDUCATED WOMEN EDUCATION OF WOMEN EQUATIONS FAMILY FARMS FAMILY SIZE FEMALE EDUCATION FEMALE EMPLOYMENT FEMALE LABOR FEMALE LABOR FORCE FEMALE PARTICIPATION FERTILITY FERTILITY RATE FERTILITY RATES FUTURE RESEARCH GDP GDP PER CAPITA GENDER EQUALITY GENDER GAP GENDER NORMS GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA HOUSEHOLD CHORES HUMAN CAPITAL INCOME EFFECT INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION JOBLESS GROWTH JOBS LABOR DEMAND LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LABOR MARKET LABOR MOBILITY LABOR SUPPLY LABORERS MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE MARRIAGE AGE MARRIED WOMEN MORTALITY NATURAL RESOURCE NATURAL RESOURCES OCCUPATIONS OUTPUTS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POVERTY REDUCTION PREGNANCIES PREVIOUS RESULTS PREVIOUS SECTION PROGRESS PURCHASING POWER PURCHASING POWER PARITY REGIONAL FACTORS REGIONAL GROUPING REGIONAL LEVEL REGIONAL PATTERN REGIONAL PERFORMANCE RURAL AREAS SECONDARY EDUCATION SOCIAL SCIENCE STRUCTURAL CHANGE STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION SUBSTITUTION EFFECT UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYED FEMALES UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATES UNPAID WORKERS URBAN AREAS VALUE ADDED WAGES WEALTH WOMAN WORKER WORLD REGIONS |
| spellingShingle |
ADULT WOMEN AGE GROUP AGE GROUPS AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AGRICULTURE BARGAINING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS CHANGES IN FERTILITY DECLINE IN FERTILITY DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DIVERSIFICATION DIVISION OF LABOUR DRIVERS ECONOMETRICS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC HISTORY ECONOMIC SHOCKS EDUCATED WOMEN EDUCATION OF WOMEN EQUATIONS FAMILY FARMS FAMILY SIZE FEMALE EDUCATION FEMALE EMPLOYMENT FEMALE LABOR FEMALE LABOR FORCE FEMALE PARTICIPATION FERTILITY FERTILITY RATE FERTILITY RATES FUTURE RESEARCH GDP GDP PER CAPITA GENDER EQUALITY GENDER GAP GENDER NORMS GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA HOUSEHOLD CHORES HUMAN CAPITAL INCOME EFFECT INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION JOBLESS GROWTH JOBS LABOR DEMAND LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LABOR MARKET LABOR MOBILITY LABOR SUPPLY LABORERS MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE MARRIAGE AGE MARRIED WOMEN MORTALITY NATURAL RESOURCE NATURAL RESOURCES OCCUPATIONS OUTPUTS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POVERTY REDUCTION PREGNANCIES PREVIOUS RESULTS PREVIOUS SECTION PROGRESS PURCHASING POWER PURCHASING POWER PARITY REGIONAL FACTORS REGIONAL GROUPING REGIONAL LEVEL REGIONAL PATTERN REGIONAL PERFORMANCE RURAL AREAS SECONDARY EDUCATION SOCIAL SCIENCE STRUCTURAL CHANGE STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION SUBSTITUTION EFFECT UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYED FEMALES UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATES UNPAID WORKERS URBAN AREAS VALUE ADDED WAGES WEALTH WOMAN WORKER WORLD REGIONS Verme, Paolo Economic Development and Female Labor Participation in the Middle East and North Africa : A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis |
| geographic_facet |
Middle East and North Africa North Africa Middle East |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6927 |
| description |
The Middle East and North Africa region
is known for having low female labor market participation
rates as compared with its level of economic development. A
possible explanation is that these countries find themselves
at the turning point of the U-shape hypothesis when
countries transition from declining to rising female
participation rates. This paper tests the U-shape hypothesis
in countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It finds
that the region has outperformed other world regions in
terms of the main drivers of the U-shape hypothesis,
including gross domestic product per capita, economic
transformation away from the agricultural sector, female
education, and fertility rates. These facts are consistent
with nonparametric evidence that shows countries in the
region are distributed over a U-shaped curve. However,
parametric tests of the hypothesis point in a different
direction. The region shows an inverted U-shape overall and
great heterogeneity across countries and age cohorts that
defies any law on the relation between gross domestic
product and female participation rate. The explanation
behind these findings may be economic and cultural. Jobless
growth and the lack of growth in employment sectors such as
manufacturing and services, which proved critical for female
employment in other countries, weaken labor demand and
strengthen the role of institutions that may discourage
female participation, such as marriage, legislation, and
gender norms. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Verme, Paolo |
| author_facet |
Verme, Paolo |
| author_sort |
Verme, Paolo |
| title |
Economic Development and Female Labor Participation in the Middle East and North Africa : A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis |
| title_short |
Economic Development and Female Labor Participation in the Middle East and North Africa : A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis |
| title_full |
Economic Development and Female Labor Participation in the Middle East and North Africa : A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis |
| title_fullStr |
Economic Development and Female Labor Participation in the Middle East and North Africa : A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Economic Development and Female Labor Participation in the Middle East and North Africa : A Test of the U-Shape Hypothesis |
| title_sort |
economic development and female labor participation in the middle east and north africa : a test of the u-shape hypothesis |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/06/19686510/economic-development-female-labor-participation-middle-east-north-africa-test-u-shape-hypothesis http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18783 |
| _version_ |
1764442759080443904 |