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Empowering women in conservative settings: evidence from an intervention in rural Egypt

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmed Elsayed

    (IZA)

  • Soiliou Daw Namoro

    (The Postal Regulatory Commission)

  • Rania Roushdy

    (The American University in Cairo)

Abstract

We evaluate the impact of a large-scale intervention in the conservative setting of rural Egypt which attempts to relax human capital constraints for women by offering vocational, business and life skills training across 30 villages in the south of the country. Relative to women in the control villages, the intervention increased women’s labor force participation and their likelihood to engage in self-employment and formal wage employment. Moreover, business knowledge and future business aspirations increased for treated women. We find positive spillover effects within treated villages for the intentions to set up businesses but no similar effects on actual labor market outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed Elsayed & Soiliou Daw Namoro & Rania Roushdy, 2022. "Empowering women in conservative settings: evidence from an intervention in rural Egypt," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1287-1322, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:20:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s11150-021-09576-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-021-09576-5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Empowerment of women; Field intervention; Egypt;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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