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The Effect of Patriarchal Culture on Women’s Labor Force Participation

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  • Ishac Diwan

    (Harvard Kennedy School)

  • Irina Vartanova

Abstract

We show that measures of patriarchal culture are correlated with female labor force participation (FLFP) and that levels of women education, together with personal values and country norms in regard to patriarchy explain most of the regional variations in FLFP observed around the world. We argue that education hides (at least) three separate effects: the impact of women’s wages on household income, its impact on personal values, and the impact of a better bargaining position in her household and community. This means that FLFP can be increased not only through the impact of improved education on household income, but also through its indirect effect on patriarchal values, and on women bargaining power, the latter effect being larger in countries where the variability in values among the population is large.

Suggested Citation

  • Ishac Diwan & Irina Vartanova, 2017. "The Effect of Patriarchal Culture on Women’s Labor Force Participation," Working Papers 1101, Economic Research Forum, revised 06 Jan 2017.
    • Handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:1101
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    References listed on IDEAS

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