IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/32954.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Economic liberalization, gender wage inequality and welfare – a theoretical analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Mukhopadhyay, Ujjaini
  • Chaudhuri, Sarbajit

Abstract

The paper develops a 3-sector general equilibrium model appropriate for economies with female labour oriented export sector to examine the effects of economic liberalization policies on gender based wage inequality. It is assumed that there exist disparities in efficiencies between male and female labour due to skewed access to education and health, and differences in their spending patterns leading to differential effects of respective wages on their nutrition. The results indicate that tariff cut may reduce gender wage inequality, but may have detrimental effects on welfare; while foreign capital inflow may accentuate the inequality, despite improving the welfare of the economy. However, government policies to increase the provision of education and health have favourable effects on gender wage inequality but may be welfare deteriorating. Thus, the paper provides a theoretical explanation to empirical evidences of diverse effects of liberalization on gender wage inequality and explains the possibility of a trade-off between gender inequality and social welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Mukhopadhyay, Ujjaini & Chaudhuri, Sarbajit, 2011. "Economic liberalization, gender wage inequality and welfare – a theoretical analysis," MPRA Paper 32954, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:32954
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/32954/1/MPRA_paper_32954.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chamarbagwala, Rubiana, 2006. "Economic Liberalization and Wage Inequality in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 1997-2015, December.
    2. Nira Ramachandran, 2006. "Women and Food Security in South Asia: Current Issues and Emerging Concerns," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-131, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Chaudhuri, Sarbajit, 2007. "Foreign capital, welfare and urban unemployment in the presence of agricultural dualism," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 149-165, March.
    4. Haddad, Lawrence & Hoddinott, John & Alderman, Harold & DEC, 1994. "Intrahousehold resource allocation : an overview," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1255, The World Bank.
    5. Gunseli Berik, 2000. "Mature Export-Led Growth and Gender Wage Inequality in Taiwan," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 1-26.
    6. Marilyn Carr & Martha Alter Chen & Jane Tate, 2000. "Globalization and Home-Based Workers," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 123-142.
    7. Bliss, Christopher & Stern, Nicholas, 1978. "Productivity, wages and nutrition : Part I: the theory," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 331-362, December.
    8. Brecher, Richard A. & Diaz Alejandro, Carlos F., 1977. "Tariffs, foreign capital and immiserizing growth," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 317-322, November.
    9. Siwan Anderson & Jean-Marie Baland, 2002. "The Economics of Roscas and Intrahousehold Resource Allocation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(3), pages 963-995.
    10. Altonji, Joseph G & Hayashi, Fumio & Kotlikoff, Laurence J, 1992. "Is the Extended Family Altruistically Linked? Direct Tests Using Micro Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(5), pages 1177-1198, December.
    11. Hazarika, Gautam & Otero, Rafael, 2004. "Foreign Trade and the Gender Earnings Differential in Urban Mexico," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 19, pages 353-373.
    12. Elissa Braunstein & Mark Brenner, 2007. "Foreign direct investment and gendered wages in urban China," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3-4), pages 213-237.
    13. Remco H. Oostendorp, 2009. "Globalization and the Gender Wage Gap," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 23(1), pages 141-161, January.
    14. Kusago, Takayoshi & Barham, Bradford L., 2001. "Preference Heterogeneity, Power, and Intrahousehold Decision-Making in Rural Malaysia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1237-1256, July.
    15. 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.
    16. Siddiqui, Rizwana, 2006. "Modelling Gender Dimensions of the Impact Of Economic Reforms in Pakistan," Conference papers 331468, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    17. repec:pru:wpaper:32 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Marjit, Sugata & Broll, Udo & Mitra, Sandip, 1997. "Targeting Sectors for Foreign Capital Inflow in a Small Developing Economy," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 101-106, February.
    19. Siwan Anderson & Jean-Marie Baland, 2002. "The Economics of Roscas and Intrahousehold Resource Allocation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(3), pages 963-995.
    20. Hoddinott, John & Haddad, Lawrence, 1995. "Does Female Income Share Influence Household Expenditures? Evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(1), pages 77-96, February.
    21. Marjit, Sugata & Beladi, Hamid, 1996. "Protection and the gainful effects of foreign capital," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 311-316, December.
    22. Hoque, Serajul, 2005. "The impact of tariff reduction on Bangladesh economy: a computable general equilibrium assessment," MPRA Paper 16246, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Sarbajit Chaudhuri & Shigemi Yabuuchi & Ujjaini Mukhopadhyay, 2006. "Inflow Of Foreign Capital And Trade Liberalization In A Model With An Informal Sector And Urban Unemployment," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), pages 87-103, February.
    24. Menon, Nidhiya & Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen, 2009. "International Trade and the Gender Wage Gap: New Evidence from India's Manufacturing Sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 965-981, May.
    25. Sarbajit Chaudhuri, 2005. "Labour Market Distortion, Technology Transfer And Gainful Effects Of Foreign Capital," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 73(2), pages 214-227, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dorothée Boccanfuso & Jonathan Goyette & Cho Euphrasie Monique ANGBO, 2014. "Constraints to women’s entrepreneurship and welfare in developing countries," EcoMod2014 6844, EcoMod.

    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. Somasree Poddar & Sarbajit Chaudhuri, 2016. "Economic Reforms and Gender-Based Wage Inequality in the Presence of Factor Market Distortions," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 14(2), pages 301-321, December.
    2. Chaudhuri, Sarbajit, 2014. "Foreign capital, non-traded goods and welfare in a developing economy in the presence of externalities," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 249-262.
    3. Sarbajit Chaudhuri & Somasree Poddar Roychowdhury & Salonkara Chaudhuri, 2019. "Gender-based wage inequality and economic liberalism in the presence of endogenous supply of female labour," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 239-260, December.
    4. Chaudhuri, Sarbajit & Mukhopadhyay, Ujjaini, 2009. "Revisiting the Informal Sector: A General Equilibrium Approach," MPRA Paper 52135, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Chaudhuri, Sarbajit & Banerjee, Dibyendu, 2009. "Foreign Capital, National Welfare and Unemployment in a Fair Wage Model," MPRA Paper 18005, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Nikulin, Dagmara & Wolszczak-Derlacz, Joanna, 2022. "GVC involvement and the gender wage gap: Micro-evidence on European countries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 268-282.
    7. Chaudhuri, Sarbajit & Banerjee, Dibyendu, 2010. "FDI in agricultural land, welfare and unemployment in a developing economy," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 229-239, December.
    8. Maryam Jamielaa, 2018. "Trade openness and female-male earnings differentials: Evidence from Indonesia," Economic Journal of Emerging Markets, Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 10(1), pages 82-92, April.
    9. Veeramani, Choorikkad & Banerjee, Purna, 2022. "Exchange rate fluctuations, labour laws, and gender differences in job flows: Analysis of manufacturing industries across Indian states," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    10. Stephanie Seguino, 2008. "Gender, Distribution, and Balance of Payments (revised 10/08)," Working Papers wp133_revised, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    11. Chatterjee, Tonmoy & Gupta, Kausik, 2014. "Trade Policies, Health Care and Social Welfare: A General Equilibrium Analysis," MPRA Paper 57315, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Xu, Zeyu, 2007. "A survey on intra-household models and evidence," MPRA Paper 3763, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Chatterjee, Tonmoy & Gupta, Kausik, 2013. "Trade in Health Services and Globalization: The Role of Infinitesimal Changes of Trade Policy," MPRA Paper 57343, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Kaveri Deb & William R. Hauk, 2020. "The Impact of Chinese Imports on Indian Wage Inequality," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(2), pages 267-290, June.
    15. Chatterjee, Tonmoy & Gupta, Kausik, 2013. "Mobility of Capital and Health Sector:A Trade Theoretic Analysis," MPRA Paper 48557, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Latorre, María C., 2016. "A CGE Analysis of the Impact of Foreign Direct Investment and Tariff Reform on Female and Male Workers in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 346-366.
    17. Chaudhuri, Sarbajit & Biswas, Anindya, 2016. "Endogenous labour market imperfection, foreign direct investment and external terms-of-trade shocks in a developing economy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 416-424.
    18. Nidhiya Menon & Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, 2010. "Gender Differences in Socioeconomic Status and Health: Evidence from the 2008 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey," Working Papers 18, Brandeis University, Department of Economics and International Business School.
    19. Sarbajit Chaudhuri, 2016. "Trade Unionism and Welfare Consequences of Trade and Investment Reforms in A Developing Economy," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 152-171, February.
    20. Mizuki Komura & Hikaru Ogawa, 2019. "Capital market integration and gender inequality," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 1387-1413, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender; wage inequality; foreign capital inflow; tariff cut;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D50 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - General
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:pra:mprapa:32954. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.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.