IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ocp/rtrade/rp-21-03.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Trade, Infrastructure, and Female Participation in Labor Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Mina Baliamoune

Abstract

We provide evidence on the direct and indirect effects of trade and infrastructure on women’s participation in the labor force. We use panel data from 91 developing and emerging economies, and examine the impacts of openness to international trade and three indicators of infrastructure (access to electricity, mobile phone subscriptions and internet use) on female labor force participation. Fixed-effects and instrumental variable fixed-effects estimates suggest that both trade and access to electricity have non-linear (U-shape) effects on female labor force participation, and have additional region-specific impacts which are negative in the case of the Middle East and North Africa, and positive in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, but do not seem to have additional effects from interactions with each other. On the other hand, we find that mobile phone and internet use boost women’s labor force participation through their interplay with trade. We discuss the policy implications of these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Mina Baliamoune, 2021. "Trade, Infrastructure, and Female Participation in Labor Markets," Research papers & Policy papers on Trade Dynamics and Policies 2110, Policy Center for the New South.
    • Handle: RePEc:ocp:rtrade:rp-21-03
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.policycenter.ma/sites/default/files/2022-01/RP-21-03-Mina-Baliamoune.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lars-Hendrik Roller & Leonard Waverman, 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 909-923, September.
    2. Dave Donaldson, 2018. "Railroads of the Raj: Estimating the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(4-5), pages 899-934, April.
    3. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2121-2168, October.
    4. Nordås, Hildegunn Kyvik & Piermartini, Roberta, 2004. "Infrastructure and trade," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2004-04, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    5. Uchenna Efobi & Belmondo Tanankem & Simplice Asongu, 2018. "Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Advancement: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 18/005, African Governance and Development Institute..
    6. Nkoumou Ngoa, Gaston Brice & Song, Jacques Simon, 2021. "Female participation in African labor markets: The role of information and communication technologies," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9).
    7. Jeffrey Bernstein & Theofanis Mamuneas, 2008. "Public infrastructure, input efficiency and productivity growth in the Canadian food processing industry," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 1-13, February.
    8. Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology Advancement: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 86(2), pages 231-246, June.
    9. Simone Tagliapietra & Giovanni Occhiali & Enrico Nano & Robert Kalcik, 2020. "The impact of electrification on labour market outcomes in Nigeria," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(3), pages 737-779, October.
    10. Taryn Dinkelman, 2011. "The Effects of Rural Electrification on Employment: New Evidence from South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3078-3108, December.
    11. Jeremy Greenwood & Ananth Seshadri & Mehmet Yorukoglu, 2005. "Engines of Liberation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(1), pages 109-133.
    12. Barro, Robert J, 1990. "Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogenous Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 103-126, October.
    13. Isis Gaddis & Janneke Pieters, 2017. "The Gendered Labor Market Impacts of Trade Liberalization: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(2), pages 457-490.
    14. Stephanie Seguino, 1997. "Gender wage inequality and export-led growth in South Korea," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(2), pages 102-132.
    15. Lei Lei & Sonalde Desai & Reeve Vanneman, 2019. "The Impact of Transportation Infrastructure on Women's Employment in India," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 94-125, October.
    16. Elissaios Papyrakis & Arlette Covarrubias & Arjan Verschoor, 2012. "Gender and Trade Aspects of Labour Markets," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 81-98, December.
    17. Matthias Busse & Christian Spielmann, 2006. "Gender Inequality and Trade," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 362-379, August.
    18. Daniel F. Martinez & Oscar A. Mitnik & Edgar Salgado & Lynn Scholl & Patricia Yañez-Pagans, 2020. "Connecting to Economic Opportunity: the Role of Public Transport in Promoting Women’s Employment in Lima," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-23, March.
    19. Juhn, Chinhui & Ujhelyi, Gergely & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina, 2014. "Men, women, and machines: How trade impacts gender inequality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 179-193.
    20. Bougheas, Spiros & Demetriades, Panicos O. & Morgenroth, Edgar L. W., 1999. "Infrastructure, transport costs and trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 169-189, February.
    21. Douglas R. Dalenberg & Mark D. Partridge, 1997. "Public Infrastructure and Wages: Public Capital's Role as a Productive Input and Household Amenity," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 73(2), pages 268-284.
    22. David Bloom & David Canning & Günther Fink & Jocelyn Finlay, 2009. "Fertility, female labor force participation, and the demographic dividend," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 79-101, June.
    23. Alex Trew, 2020. "Endogenous Infrastructure Development and Spatial Takeoff in the First Industrial Revolution," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 44-93, April.
    24. Niru Yadav, 2014. "The Role of Internet Use on International Trade: Evidence from Asian and Sub-Saharan African Enterprises," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(2), pages 189-214, June.
    25. Günseli Berik & Yana van der Meulen Rodgers & Joseph E. Zveglich, 2004. "International Trade and Gender Wage Discrimination: Evidence from East Asia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 237-254, May.
    26. Musiliu O. Oseni & Michael G. Pollitt, 2013. "The Economic Costs of Unsupplied Electricity: Evidence from Backup Generation among African Firms," Working Papers EPRG 1326, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    27. Grogan, Louise & Sadanand, Asha, 2013. "Rural Electrification and Employment in Poor Countries: Evidence from Nicaragua," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 252-265.
    28. César Calderón & Enrique Moral‐Benito & Luis Servén, 2015. "Is infrastructure capital productive? A dynamic heterogeneous approach," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 177-198, March.
    29. Hyunbae Chun & Jeungil Oh, 2002. "An instrumental variable estimate of the effect of fertility on the labour force participation of married women," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(10), pages 631-634.
    30. Sarra Ben Yahmed & Pamela Bombarda, 2020. "Gender, Informal Employment and Trade Liberalization in Mexico," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 259-283.
    31. Faheem Ur Rehman & Abul Ala Noman & Yibing Ding, 2020. "Does infrastructure increase exports and reduce trade deficit? Evidence from selected South Asian countries using a new Global Infrastructure Index," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    32. Yadav Niru, 2014. "The Role of Internet Use on International Trade: Evidence from Asian and Sub-Saharan African Enterprises," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 14(2), pages 189-214, April.
    33. Sedai, Ashish Kumar & Vasudevan, Ramaa & Pena, Anita Alves & Miller, Ray, 2021. "Does reliable electrification reduce gender differences? Evidence from India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 580-601.
    34. Boniface Ngah Epo & Ronie Bertrand Nguenkwe, 2020. "Information and Communication Technology and Intra-Regional Trade in the Economic Community of West African States: Ambivalent or Complementary?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1397-1412.
    35. T. D. Stanley & Hristos Doucouliagos & Piers Steel, 2018. "Does Ict Generate Economic Growth? A Meta†Regression Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 705-726, July.
    36. Geginat, Carolin & Ramalho, Rita, 2018. "Electricity connections and firm performance in 183 countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 344-366.
    37. George R. G. Clarke & Scott J. Wallsten, 2006. "Has the Internet Increased Trade? Developed and Developing Country Evidence," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 44(3), pages 465-484, July.
    38. Lusi Liao & Sasiwimon W Paweenawat, 2020. "Is there a wage penalty for occupational feminization? Evidence from Thai labor market," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(3), pages 2143-2153.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Pamela E. Ofori & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2021. "The Synergy between Governance and Economic Integration in Promoting Female Economic Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 21/071, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    2. Pamela E. Ofori & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou & Raufhon Salahodjaev, 2023. "The Synergy between Governance and Trade Openness in Promoting Female Economic Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers of The Association for Promoting Women in Research and Development in Africa (ASPROWORDA). 23/001, The Association for Promoting Women in Research and Development in Africa (ASPROWORDA).
    3. Small, Sarah F. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana, 2023. "The gendered effects of investing in physical and social infrastructure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    4. Fujii, Tomoki & Shonchoy, Abu S., 2020. "Fertility and rural electrification in Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. Connolly, Laura, 2022. "The effects of a trade shock on gender-specific labor market outcomes in Brazil," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    6. L. Alan Winters & Antonio Martuscelli, 2014. "Trade Liberalization and Poverty: What Have We Learned in a Decade?," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 493-512, October.
    7. Dix-Carneiro, Rafael & Kovak, Brian K., 2023. "Globalization and Inequality in Latin America," IZA Discussion Papers 16363, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Felipe Benguria & Josh Ederington, 2023. "Decomposing the effect of trade on the gender wage gap," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(3), pages 1082-1120, August.
    9. Shushanik Hakobyan & John McLaren, 2018. "NAFTA and the Wages of Married Women," NBER Working Papers 24424, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. repec:ocp:rpaper:pp-1908 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Wan, Guanghua & Wang, Chen & Zhang, Xun & Zuo, Congming, 2024. "Income inequality effect of public utility infrastructure: Evidence from rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    12. Mina Baliamoune, 2020. "Trade and Women’s Wage Employment," Research papers & Policy papers on Trade Dynamics and Policies 2009, Policy Center for the New South.
    13. Sauré, Philip & Zoabi, Hosny, 2014. "International trade, the gender wage gap and female labor force participation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 17-33.
    14. Enrico Nano, 2022. "Electrifying Nigeria: the Impact of Rural Access to Electricity on Kids' Schooling," IHEID Working Papers 03-2022, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    15. Agénor, Pierre-Richard & Agénor, Madina, 2023. "Access to infrastructure and women’s time allocation: Implications for growth and gender equality," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    16. Yu, Zhen & Wu, Xiaoling & Li, Meng & Guo, Rufei, 2021. "Import competition and the gender gap in labor force participation: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    17. Mina Baliamoune, 2022. "Trade and Youth Labor Market Outcomes: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications," Research papers & Policy papers on Economic Trends and Policies 2239, Policy Center for the New South.
    18. repec:ocp:rpaper:rp-1909 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Heckl, Pia, 2024. "Import Shocks and Gendered Labor Market Responses: Evidence from Mexico," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    20. Simplice A. Asongu & Mushfiqur Rahman & Mohammad Alghababsheh, 2022. "Information Technology, Business Sustainability and Female Economic Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 22/057, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    21. Henri Bello Fika, 2024. "Gender Gap in the Paid Economic Activity and Economic Growth in the CEMAC Zone," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(7), pages 2329-2349, July.
    22. Bensch, Gunther & Gotz, Gunnar & Peters, Jörg, 2020. "Effects of rural electrification on employment: A comment on Dinkelman (2011)," Ruhr Economic Papers 840, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ocp:rtrade:rp-21-03. 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: Policy Center for the New South's Customer service (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ocppcma.html .

    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.