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Unilateral Divorce for Women and Labor Supply in the Middle East and North Africa: The Effect of Khul Reform

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  • Lena Hassani-Nezhad
  • Anna Sjögren

Abstract

This contribution investigates whether the introduction of Khul, Islamic unilateral divorce rights for women, helps to explain recent dramatic increases in women's labor supply in Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries over the 1980–2008 period. It shows, using data for eighteen countries, that Khul reform increased the labor force participation of women relative to men. Furthermore, we find evidence that the effect of Khul is larger for younger women (ages 24–34) compared to older women (ages 35–55). Younger women increased their labor force participation by 6 percent, which accounts for about 10 percent of the increase in their labor force participation from 1980 to 2008.

Suggested Citation

  • Lena Hassani-Nezhad & Anna Sjögren, 2014. "Unilateral Divorce for Women and Labor Supply in the Middle East and North Africa: The Effect of Khul Reform," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 113-137, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:20:y:2014:i:4:p:113-137
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2014.932421
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    Cited by:

    1. Corradini, Viola & Buccione, Giulia, 2023. "Unilateral divorce rights, domestic violence and women’s agency: Evidence from the Egyptian Khul reform," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    2. Katie R. Genadek, 2018. "Unilateral Divorce and Time Allocation in the United States," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 63-87, January.
    3. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Hassan F. Gholipour, 2018. "Divorce and Gold Coins: A Case Study of Iran," CESifo Working Paper Series 6873, CESifo.
    4. John R. Bowen, 2017. "Gender, Islam, and law," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-152, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. John R. Bowen, 2017. "Gender, Islam, and law," Working Papers id:11970, eSocialSciences.
    6. Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren & Penglase, Jacob, 2021. "Does unilateral divorce impact women’s labor supply? Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 315-347.
    7. John R. Bowen, 2017. "Gender, Islam, and law," WIDER Working Paper Series 152, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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