Self-Employed Persons and Wage-Earners in Algeria: Application of a Bivariate Probit Model by Gender and Sector

This chapter provides indicators of Algerian women's economic activity and education, and their contribution to economic life. Using data from the 2003 Household Employment Survey, which covered more than 14,000 Algerian households, we analyze the socioeconomic characteristics of men and women, and then apply a bivariate probit model in which an individual's choice of occupation is associated jointly with employment status (self-employed/wage earner) and sector (urban/rural). The results show that educational level, work experience, and whether the employment is in industry or in services, all significantly affect whether men and women choose to work as wage earners or as self-employed persons. Women spend a considerable amount of time out of the labor market on child rearing and domestic tasks, and hence they have less potential work experience than men. In rural areas, women have a lower probability than men of being either self-employed or working for wages. Urban women are more educated than rural women, and therefore have better opportunities to be self-employed or wage earners. The services sector is Algeria's second-largest employer of women (administration is the largest): it is followed by agriculture and industry.