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Against the Wind: Labor Force Participation of Women and Economic Instability in Iran

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  • Mahdi Majbouri

Abstract

In the last three decades, Iranian women's educational attainment has continuously increased while their fertility rate has fallen rapidly. Yet in spite of these developments, which in many countries have a positive effect on women's labor force participation, female labor force participation (FLFP) rates have remained at low levels. This paper argues that despite its overall static trend, FLFP of some Iranian women responded to economic pressures induced by macroeconomic instabilities. Looking at the Iranian economic crisis of 1994–5, the study shows that, controlling for individual fixed effects, married women in rural areas and never-married women in urban areas increased their participation rate by as much as 38 percent. No change in hours worked was found for any group of women. The differences in responses and their underlying reasons have policy implications for many developing countries.

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  • Mahdi Majbouri, 2016. "Against the Wind: Labor Force Participation of Women and Economic Instability in Iran," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 31-53, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:22:y:2016:i:4:p:31-53
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2016.1150597
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mahdi Majbouri, 2019. "Twins, family size and female labour force participation in Iran," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(4), pages 387-397, January.
    2. Mahdi Majbouri, 2017. "Oil, Laws, and Female Labor Force Participation," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 23(1), pages 91-106, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ahmed Shoukry Rashad & Mesbah Fathy Sharaf, 2019. "Does maternal employment affect child nutrition status? New evidence from Egypt," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 48-62, January.
    2. Bussemakers, Carlijn & van Oosterhout, Kars & Kraaykamp, Gerbert & Spierings, Niels, 2017. "Women’s Worldwide Education–employment Connection: A Multilevel Analysis of the Moderating Impact of Economic, Political, and Cultural Contexts," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 28-41.
    3. Ebrahim Azimi, 2015. "The effect of children on female labor force participation in urban Iran," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Kosec, Katrina & Song, Jie & Zhao, Hongdi & Holtemeyer, Brian, 2021. "The Gendered Impact of Income Fluctuations on Household Departure, Labor Supply, and Human Capital Decisions," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315094, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Hadi Salehi Esfahani & Parastoo Shajari, 2012. "Gender, Education, Family Structure, And The Allocation Of Labor In Iran," Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(02), pages 1-40.
    6. Mahdi Majbouri, 2019. "Twins, family size and female labour force participation in Iran," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(4), pages 387-397, January.
    7. Mahdi Majbouri & Sanaz Fesharaki, 2019. "Iran’s Multi-ethnic Mosaic: A 23-Year Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 831-859, October.
    8. Firat Demir & Saleh S. Tabrizy, 2022. "Gendered effects of sanctions on manufacturing employment: Evidence from Iran," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 2040-2069, November.
    9. Sanaz Fesharaki & Mahdi Majbouri, 2016. "Iran's multi-ethnic mosaic," WIDER Working Paper Series 117, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Mahdi Majbouri, 2017. "Oil, Laws, and Female Labor Force Participation," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 23(1), pages 91-106, February.
    11. Karimi, Seyed M. & Taghvatalab, Golnaz, 2020. "Access to higher education and the likelihood of being married," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 22-33.
    12. Elham Taheri & Fatma Güven Lisaniler & Cem Payaslioğlu, 2021. "Female Labour Force Participation: What Prevents Sustainable Development Goals from Being Realised in Iran?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, October.

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