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dc.titleFemale Labor Force Participation, Labor Market Dynamic and Growth in LAC
dc.contributor.authorBustelo, Monserrat
dc.contributor.authorFlabbi, Luca
dc.contributor.authorPiras, Claudia
dc.contributor.authorTejada, Mauricio
dc.contributor.orgunitGender and Diversity Division
dc.coverageLatin America and the Caribbean
dc.date.available2019-01-14T00:00:00
dc.date.issue2019-01-14T00:00:00
dc.description.abstractThe labor force participation of women is lower than the labor force participation of men. This empirical regularity is particularly acute in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In terms of labor market productivity and growth potential, these lower participation rates constitute a reserve of untapped resources. Providing an estimate of the impact that increased female participation in the labor force has on labor market outcomes and GDP is therefore crucial but challenging. Two issues are of importance: sample selection and equilibrium effects. We develop a labor market model that is able to address these issues. We estimate the model on the microdata of five LAC countries. We find that both a childcare policy and a policy increasing women’s productivity generate a positive impact on female participation and significant increases in GDP per capita. Our results suggest that relatively modest policies that are able to increase the participation of women in the labor market can provide a significant increase in GDP. However, we are not able to take into account the fiscal costs necessary to implement the policies or the possible negative externalities on household production.
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001449
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Female_Labor_Force_Participation_Labor_Market_Dynamic_and_Growth.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectFemale Labor Force
dc.subjectWage
dc.subject.jelcodeJ24 - Human Capital • Skills • Occupational Choice • Labor Productivity
dc.subject.jelcodeO17 - Formal and Informal Sectors • Shadow Economy • Institutional Arrangements
dc.subject.jelcodeJ64 - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
dc.typeWorking Papers
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