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Labour Force Participation Rate of Women in Urban India: An Age-Cohort-Wise Analysis

Author

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  • Deeksha Tayal

    (Indian Institute of Technology Delhi)

  • Sourabh Paul

    (Indian Institute of Technology Delhi)

Abstract

The persistent problem of low and stagnant labour force participation rate of women in urban India over the past two and a half decades has been well recognised by scholars. The rates stagnated within the low range of 22–23%, during the period extending between 1999–2000 and 2011–2012. The paper attempts to contribute to the current understanding of this puzzling phenomenon through a sequential analysis of long-term trends in female labour force participation rate by disaggregating urban women in terms of their age, marital status, and education levels. The cross-sectional analysis is supplemented by the nonparametric technique of classification and regression tree (CART). Focussing on the sample of non-student urban women, the paper finds that the problem relates primarily to the relatively better educated married women in the age-cohorts of 30–59 years. Moreover, 2011–2012 was marked by a further weakening in the labour market outcomes of these women, both with respect to the lesser educated married women and married men in general.

Suggested Citation

  • Deeksha Tayal & Sourabh Paul, 2021. "Labour Force Participation Rate of Women in Urban India: An Age-Cohort-Wise Analysis," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(3), pages 565-593, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:64:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s41027-021-00336-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s41027-021-00336-8
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female labour force participation; Employment rate; Age-cohort; Married women; Domestic duties; Graduate women;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions

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