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on Gender |
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Issue of 2023‒05‒22
four papers chosen by Jan Sauermann Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Lark, Olga (Department of Economics, Lund University); Videnord, Josefin (Uppsala University) |
| Abstract: | We examine whether exposure to gender inequality at export destinations affects the gender wage gap in exporting firms. We motivate the analysis through a stylized model where wages depend on worker productivity, and men have a comparative advantage when trading with gender-unequal countries due to customer discrimination. Empirically, we use high-quality matched employer-employee data from Sweden and calculate how exposed firms are to country-level gender inequality through their export destinations. Although increased export intensity on average leads to a wider within-firm gender wage gap, the effect is entirely driven by trade with gender-unequal countries; we find no impact on the gender wage gap when firms increase their exports to countries with gender-equality levels close to that of Sweden. Female managers, who are most likely to interact with foreign customers, experience the most pronounced negative relative wage effects. |
| Keywords: | Export; International trade; Gender wage gap; Gender inequality; Customer discrimination; Gender inequality index |
| JEL: | F14 F16 F66 J16 J31 |
| Date: | 2023–04–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2023_006&r=gen |
| By: | Kim, Jinyoung (Korea University); Kwak, Eunhye (Korea Labor Institute) |
| Abstract: | This study identifies a new mechanism to account for the persistent gender differences in earnings after childbirth. Aside from women's voluntary wage cuts in pursuit of family-friendly job amenities, we claim that adverse labor market conditions at the time of childbearing widen the gender gap among parents. Employing the instrumental variable (IV) method against a large cross-sectional dataset from the US, we find that giving birth during a recession reduces mothers' earnings, whereas fathers remain mostly unaffected. The asymmetric impact of a recession at the time of childbirth persists for a long time and accounts for 30–40 percent of the after-childbirth gender gap in earnings. Unintended impacts of recession on parenthood gender gap leaves room for government intervention on women's career breaks. |
| Keywords: | gender gap, recession, long-term effects, fertility, child penalty |
| JEL: | E32 J13 J21 J31 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16055&r=gen |
| By: | Wolfgang Stojetz (ISDC – International Security and Development Center, Berlin, Germany; and Humboldt University Berlin, Germany); Tilman Brück (ISDC – International Security and Development Center, Berlin, Germany; Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Großbeeren, Germany; and Humboldt University Berlin, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Globally, one in three women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) over their lifetimes. Yet, the factors that cause men to commit IPV remain poorly understood. We propose and test a causal long-term link from past exposure to gender-based collective violence to violent behavior against an intimate partner. Combining novel survey data from Angolan war veteran families and a natural experiment, we find that exposure to sexual violence by armed groups against women makes male veterans about 30 percentage points more likely to commit physical – but not sexual – violence against a female intimate partner 18 years later (on average). Our results are not consistent with standard explanations of IPV based on group norms and intra-household bargaining. Instead, we attribute the effect to a lasting reduction in self-control skills. These findings challenge standard approaches to preventing IPV and emphasize the potential of working with men, especially after episodes of collective violence. |
| Keywords: | war, gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, wartime sexual violence, ex-combatants, demobilization |
| JEL: | D74 J12 J16 |
| Date: | 2023–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:389&r=gen |
| By: | Lisa Cameron (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Diana Contreras Suarez (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Yi-Ping Tseng (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | Although it is well established that women’s labour force participation drops markedly with marriage and childbearing, surprisingly little is known about women’s labour market transitions, especially in developing countries. This paper uses the Indonesian Family Life Survey to track the employment histories of over 9, 000 women across a period of more than 20 years, observing them as they get married and have children. The data show that large numbers of Indonesian women drop out of the labour market as a result of marriage and childbearing. The difficulty of maintaining formal sector employment emerges as a key problem. Having worked in the formal sector prior to the birth of a first child reduces the probability of working in the year following the birth by 20 percentage points and reduces the probability of returning to the labour market thereafter by 3.6 percentage points. Further, to the extent that women do return to work, formal sector employment is associated with greater delays in returning - women are more likely to return to work in the formal sector only once their child starts primary school, while in the informal sector they return earlier. We find little evidence of women switching from the formal to the informal sector. Formal sector labour market policies such as flexible work hours; compressed work weeks; part-time work (with the same career opportunities and benefits as full-time work); the ability to work from home; and work-based childcare are likely to boost women’s labour force participation, with consequent boosts to economic productivity and prosperity. |
| Keywords: | female labour force participation, labour market transitions, economic development, childbearing |
| JEL: | J20 J16 O15 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2023n06&r=gen |