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Oil, Laws, and Female Labor Force Participation

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  • Mahdi Majbouri

    (Babson College)

Abstract

Despite the rapid rise of women’s education and the fall of their fertility rates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), female labor force participation (FLFP) rates remain low. This paper argues that oil and gas rents and Islamic family law jointly matter. Controlling for country and year fixed-effects in a long panel dataset, it shows that per capita oil and gas rents reduce FLFP rates in countries with Islamic family law more than others. The results are robust to econometric methodology and to controlling for the interaction of rents and all other time-constant factors that are common across the MENA region, such as culture, social norms, and institutions. Moreover, the results cannot be replicated by substituting historical plough use, a strong predictor of gender discrimination, in place of Islamic family law. Policy implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Mahdi Majbouri, 2017. "Oil, Laws, and Female Labor Force Participation," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 23(1), pages 91-106, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:iaecre:v:23:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s11294-016-9621-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11294-016-9621-9
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    8. Mahdi Majbouri, 2016. "Against the Wind: Labor Force Participation of Women and Economic Instability in Iran," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 31-53, October.
    9. Majbouri, Mahdi, 2018. "Fertility and the Puzzle of Female Employment in the Middle East," IZA Discussion Papers 11322, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Sami Al-Kharusi & Azmat Gani, 2022. "Financial Credit and Expansion of the Non-Hydrocarbon Sector in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 28(3), pages 105-118, November.
    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. Mahdi Majbouri, 2016. "Against the Wind: Labor Force Participation of Women and Economic Instability in Iran," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 31-53, October.
    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. Ebrahim Azimi, 2015. "The effect of children on female labor force participation in urban Iran," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. McDonald, Lewis & Üngör, Murat, 2021. "New oil discoveries in Guyana since 2015: Resource curse or resource blessing," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. Almutairi, Najla Tharman, 2022. "Does oil wealth matter to female labour force participation: New evidence from the oil-intensive economy of Saudi Arabia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female labor force participation; Oil and gas rents; Islamic family law; Middle East and North Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • Q39 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Other

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