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Gender, Informal Employment and Trade Liberalization in Mexico

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  • Sarra Ben Yahmed
  • Pamela Bombarda

Abstract

This paper studies how import liberalization affects formal employment across gender. The theory offers a mechanism to explain how male and female formal employment shares can respond differently to trade liberalization through labor reallocation across tradable and nontradable sectors. Using Mexican data over the period 1993–2001, we find that Mexican tariff cuts increase the probability of working formally for both men and women within four-digit manufacturing industries. The formalization of jobs within tradable sectors is driven by large firms. Constructing a regional tariff measure, we find that regional exposure to import liberalization increases the probability of working formally in the manufacturing sector for both men and women, and especially for men. However in the service sectors, the probability of working formally decreases for low-skilled women.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarra Ben Yahmed & Pamela Bombarda, 2020. "Gender, Informal Employment and Trade Liberalization in Mexico," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 259-283.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:34:y:2020:i:2:p:259-283.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhy020
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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Feicheng & Kis-Katos, Krisztina & Zhou, Minghai, 2020. "Trade Liberalization and the Gender Employment Gap in China," IZA Discussion Papers 13626, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Yu, Zhen & Wu, Xiaoling & Li, Meng & Guo, Rufei, 2021. "Import competition and the gender gap in labor force participation: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Dix-Carneiro, Rafael & Kovak, Brian K., 2023. "Globalization and Inequality in Latin America," IZA Discussion Papers 16363, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Wang, Feicheng & Liang, Zhe & Lehmann, Hartmut, 2021. "Import competition and informal employment: Empirical evidence from China," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 426, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    5. Hani Mansour & Pamela Medina & Andrea Velásquez, 2023. "When Women’s Work Disappears: Marriage and Fertility Decisions in Peru," CESifo Working Paper Series 10602, CESifo.
    6. Maria Bas & Pamela Bombarda, 2023. "Input-Trade Liberalization and Formal Employment: Evidence from Mexico," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 23007, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    7. Mansour, Hani & Medina, Pamela & Velasquez, Andrea, 2023. "When Women's Work Disappears: Marriage and Fertility Decisions in Peru," IZA Discussion Papers 16364, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Pamela Bombarda & Maria Bas, 2023. "Foreign Technology and Informal Employment: Evidence from Mexico," THEMA Working Papers 2023-02, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    9. Ronald B. Davies & Arman Mazhikeyev, 2021. "The glass border: Gender and exporting in developing countries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 879-903, April.
    10. Krisztina Kis-Katos & Janneke Pieters & Robert Sparrow, 2018. "Globalization and Social Change: Gender-Specific Effects of Trade Liberalization in Indonesia," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 66(4), pages 763-793, December.
    11. Gyasi, Genevieve, 2020. "The Impact of Trade Agreement Policy on Employment," MPRA Paper 101307, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Diaz Gutierrez, Julian, 2023. "Trade Effects on Substance Abuse: Evidence from Colombia's Liberalization," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335460, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Felipe Benguria & Josh Ederington, 2023. "Decomposing the effect of trade on the gender wage gap," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(3), pages 1082-1120, August.
    14. Vandenberg, Paul, 2017. "Can Trade Help Achieve the Employment Targets of the Sustainable Development Goals?," ADBI Working Papers 650, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    15. HAYAKAWA,Kazunobu & KEOLA, Souknilanh & SUDSAWASD, Sasatra & YAMANOUCHI, Kenta, 2024. "International Bridges and Informality," IDE Discussion Papers 914, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    formal and informal labor; gender; trade liberalization; Mexico;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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