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Female Labor Force Participation in Iran: A Structural Analysis

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  • Majbouri Mahdi

    (Babson College, 231 Forst St., Wellesley, Massachusetts 02457, USA)

Abstract

Low female labor force participation (FLFP) rate in Iran, at the time that women’s education has been rising and their fertility rates have been falling, has remained a puzzle. By estimating elasticities of participation and hours with respect to wages (the extensive and intensive margins), this paper tries to shed some light on this puzzle. Using a structural estimation and controlling for selection, it depicts that the elasticity of women’s participation in the labor force with respect to wages is quite large, especially for married women. Based on this, one may argue that women’s participation is very sensitive to wages. But this is not consistent with the stylized facts about FLFP in Iran. The plausible implication of such elasticities, however, is that non-participating women have potential wages close to the wages of those who participate. Therefore, lower potential wages cannot be the factor that strongly dissuades women from participation. Instead, anticipated factors, such as labor market institutions and preferences, could be the underlying force hindering women from participation. The low FLFP rate can be explained better in light of these findings. The implications for policy and research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Majbouri Mahdi, 2015. "Female Labor Force Participation in Iran: A Structural Analysis," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-23, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:rmeecf:v:11:y:2015:i:1:p:1-23:n:4
    DOI: 10.1515/rmeef-2014-0042
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hadi Salehi Esfahani & Parastoo Shajari, 2012. "Gender, Education, Family Structure, And The Allocation Of Labor In Iran," Middle East Development Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 1250008-121, January.
    2. Potrafke, Niklas & Ursprung, Heinrich W., 2012. "Globalization and gender equality in the course of development," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 399-413.
    3. Daniel Egel & Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, 2010. "Youth Transitions To Employment And Marriage In Iran: Evidence From The School To Work Transition Survey," Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(01), pages 89-120.
    4. Sahn, David E. & Stifel, David C., 2000. "Poverty Comparisons Over Time and Across Countries in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2123-2155, December.
    5. Daniel Egel & Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, 2010. "Youth Transitions to Employment and Marriage in Iran," Middle East Development Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 89-120, January.
    6. Witte Mark David, 2011. "Female Labor, Western Culture and Growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 20-31, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dario Laudati & M. Hashem Pesaran, 2023. "Identifying the effects of sanctions on the Iranian economy using newspaper coverage," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(3), pages 271-294, April.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Sanaz Fesharaki & Mahdi Majbouri, 2016. "Iran's multi-ethnic mosaic," WIDER Working Paper Series 117, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. 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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