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The economic gains of closing the employment gender gap: Evidence from Morocco

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  • Olivier Bargain
  • Maria C. Lo Bue

Abstract

The present paper sheds new light on the growth implications of gender inequalities in the Moroccan labour market. We confront two different approaches. The first one is based on firm data to estimate gender complementarity in production and uses this information for simulations based on a simple macroeconomic model. The second relies on country panel variation to relate growth to the relative employment of women and, also, suggest simulations for Morocco. Both approaches lead to similar conclusions regarding the potential economic gains from increased female participation in this country.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Bargain & Maria C. Lo Bue, 2021. "The economic gains of closing the employment gender gap: Evidence from Morocco," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-79, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
  • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-79
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Morocco; Female labour force participation; Gender gap; Employment; Growth; Production functions (Economic theory);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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