IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wodepe/v21y2021ics2452292921000138.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender-based differences in Myanmar’s labor force

Author

Listed:
  • Paez, Gustavo Nicolas
  • Tin, Myat Su

Abstract

Gender-based differential treatment is an unquantified burden in Myanmar labour markets. Closing this literature gap, this paper uses the Labour Force Survey 2015 to provide the first study that performs an in-depth quantitative analysis of the gender gap. Besides outstanding descriptive facts, this paper adapts Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition into quantile linear models and, using Heckman corrections to adjust for unobservable skills, visualizes gender discrimination in Myanmar across seven facts. The first two facts show that Myanmar’s women labour force participation and unemployment rate gap is remarkably high among the region. However, the third fact reveals that both genders have a similar strategy to engage in the labour markets. Regarding the employed population, the fourth fact analyses the distribution of occupations and industries. It provides a first glance into the way the social norms and market dynamics create gender segregation in specific economic sectors. The fifth fact complements this landscape and statistically compares gender wage differences by education, location, age, sector, industry, and occupation. By doing so, it presents the demographic profiles that face higher gender gaps. The sixth fact decomposes the wage gap by quantiles making a case for glass ceilings and progressive pricing discrimination, both between and across industries and occupations. Finally, the seventh fact reflects over discrimination in the opportunities that women face to occupy different positions in their companies. Gender discrimination in the labour markets is a substantial barrier to the economic development of the countries. Hence, by identifying it, this paper aims to give quantitative support to the gender debate in the country, provides evidence-based suggestions for the country to improve each performance across the facts.

Suggested Citation

  • Paez, Gustavo Nicolas & Tin, Myat Su, 2021. "Gender-based differences in Myanmar’s labor force," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:21:y:2021:i:c:s2452292921000138
    DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2021.100299
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292921000138
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.wdp.2021.100299?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keller, Elisa, 2019. "Labor supply and gender differences in occupational choice," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 221-241.
    2. Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
    3. Ahmed, Salma & McGillivray, Mark, 2015. "Human Capital, Discrimination, and the Gender Wage Gap in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 506-524.
    4. Hara, Hiromi, 2018. "The gender wage gap across the wage distribution in Japan: Within- and between-establishment effects," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 213-229.
    5. Cuberes David & Teignier Marc, 2018. "Macroeconomic costs of gender gaps in a model with entrepreneurship and household production," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-15, January.
    6. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    7. Günther, Isabel & Launov, Andrey, 2012. "Informal employment in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 88-98.
    8. Sergio P. Firpo & Nicole M. Fortin & Thomas Lemieux, 2018. "Decomposing Wage Distributions Using Recentered Influence Function Regressions," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-40, May.
    9. Alan S. Blinder, 1973. "Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(4), pages 436-455.
    10. Das, Smita & Kotikula, Aphichoke, 2019. "Gender-Based Employment Segregation: Understanding Causes and Policy Interventions," Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides 30947812, The World Bank.
    11. David Cuberes & Marc Teignier, 2014. "Gender Inequality And Economic Growth: A Critical Review," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 260-276, March.
    12. Salma Ahmed & Pushkar Maitra, 2010. "Gender Wage Discrimination in Rural and Urban Labour Markets of Bangladesh," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 83-112.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Takumi Kato, 2021. "Opposition in Japan to the Olympics during the COVID-19 pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-9, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rahman, Mustafizur & Al-Hasan, Md., 2018. "Male-Female wage gap and informal employment in Bangladesh: A quantile regression approach," MPRA Paper 90131, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Zhou, Mo & Nelson, Robert, 2017. "Gender Wage Gap and Discrimination in Developing Countries," 2017 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2017, Mobile, Alabama 252727, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    3. Seneviratne, Prathi, 2020. "Gender wage inequality during Sri Lanka’s post-reform growth: A distributional analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    4. Hansen, Henrik & Rand, John & Win, Ngu Wah, 2022. "The gender wage gap in Myanmar: Adding insult to injury?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    5. Kaya Ezgi, 2021. "Gender wage gap across the distribution: What is the role of within- and between-firm effects?," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-49, January.
    6. Danquah, Michael & Iddrisu, Abdul Malik & Boakye, Ernest Owusu & Owusu, Solomon, 2021. "Do gender wage differences within households influence women's empowerment and welfare? Evidence from Ghana," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 916-932.
    7. Yamamoto, Yuki & Matsumoto, Ken’ichi & Kawata, Keisuke & Kaneko, Shinji, 2019. "Gender-based differences in employment opportunities and wage distribution in Nepal," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Araar, Abdelkrim, 2021. "The Gender Gap in Smallholder Agricultural Productivity: The Case of Cameroon," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315902, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn & Nikolai Boboshko & Matthew Comey, 2021. "The Impact of Selection into the Labor Force on the Gender Wage Gap," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1946, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    10. Mustafizur Rahman & Md. Al-Hasan, 2022. "The Reverse Gender Wage Gap in Bangladesh: Demystifying the Counterintuitive," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 65(4), pages 929-950, December.
    11. Avinno Faruk, 2021. "Analysing the glass ceiling and sticky floor effects in Bangladesh: evidence, extent and elements," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(9), pages 1-23, September.
    12. Mustafizur Rahman & Md. Al-Hasan, 2019. "Male–Female Wage Gap and Informal Employment in Bangladesh: A Quantile Regression Approach," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 20(1), pages 106-123, March.
    13. Katie Meara & Francesco Pastore & Allan Webster, 2020. "The gender pay gap in the USA: a matching study," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 271-305, January.
    14. Monsueto, Sandro Eduardo & Simão, Rosycler Cristal Santos, 2008. "The impact of gender discrimination on poverty in Brazil," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), August.
    15. P.W. Miller & S. Rummery, 1989. "Gender Wage Discrimination in Australia: A reassessment," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 89-21, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    16. Xinxin Ma, 2023. "Trade union and gender wage gap: Evidence from China," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(2), pages 1098-1110.
    17. Luis Ayala & Javier Mart n-Rom n & Juan Vicente, 2023. "What Contributes to Rising Inequality in Large Cities?," LIS Working papers 850, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    18. João Pereira & Aurora Galego, 2014. "Inter-Regional Wage Differentials in Portugal: An Analysis Across the Wage Distribution," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(9), pages 1529-1546, September.
    19. Trinh Thi, Huong & Simioni, Michel & Thomas-Agnan, Christine, 2018. "Decomposition of changes in the consumption of macronutrients in Vietnam between 2004 and 2014," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 259-275.
    20. Anna Adamecz-Völgyi & Morag Henderson & Nikki Shure, 2023. "The labor market returns to “first-in-family” university graduates," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1395-1429, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:21:y:2021:i:c:s2452292921000138. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/world-development-perspectives .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.