IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/2015-056.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

What Can Boost Female Labor Force Participation in Asia?

Author

Listed:
  • Yuko Kinoshita
  • Fang Guo

Abstract

Both Japan and Korea are trying to boost female labor force participation (FLFP) as they face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. Though FLFP has generally been on a rising trend, the female labor force in both countries is skewed towards non-regular employment despite women’s high education levels. This paper empirically examines what helps Japan and Korea to increase FLFP by type (i.e., regular vs. non-regular employment), using the SVAR model. In so doing, we compare these two Asian countries with two Nordic countries Norway and Finland. The main findings are: (i) child cash allowances tend to reduce the proportion of regular female employment in Japan and Korea, (ii) the persistent gender wage gap encourages more non-regular employment, (iii) a greater proportion of regular female employment is associated with higher fertility, and (iv) there is a need for more public spending on childcare for age 6-11 in Japan and Korea to help women continue to work.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuko Kinoshita & Fang Guo, 2015. "What Can Boost Female Labor Force Participation in Asia?," IMF Working Papers 2015/056, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2015/056
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=42786
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zvi Eckstein & Osnat Lifshitz, 2011. "Dynamic Female Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(6), pages 1675-1726, November.
    2. Florence Jaumotte, 2003. "Female Labour Force Participation: Past Trends and Main Determinants in OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 376, OECD Publishing.
    3. Gary S. Becker & H. Gregg Lewis, 1974. "Interaction between Quantity and Quality of Children," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital, pages 81-90, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. James J. Heckman, 2008. "Schools, Skills, And Synapses," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 46(3), pages 289-324, July.
    5. David C. Ribar, 1992. "Child Care and the Labor Supply of Married Women: Reduced Form Evidence," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 27(1), pages 134-165.
    6. Fang Guo, 2013. "What Causes China's High Inflation? A Threshold Structural Vector Autoregression Analysis," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 21(6), pages 100-120, November.
    7. Ghazala Naz, 2004. "The impact of cash-benefit reform on parents’ labour force participation," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 17(2), pages 369-383, June.
    8. Mishra, Vinod & Smyth, Russell, 2010. "Female labor force participation and total fertility rates in the OECD: New evidence from panel cointegration and Granger causality testing," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 48-64, January.
    9. Siv Gustafsson & Frank Stafford, 1992. "Child Care Subsidies and Labor Supply in Sweden," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 27(1), pages 204-230.
    10. Mr. Chad Steinberg & Mr. Masato Nakane, 2012. "Can Women Save Japan?," IMF Working Papers 2012/248, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Bernanke, Ben S., 1986. "Alternative explanations of the money-income correlation," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 49-99, January.
    12. Șerban Georgescu, 2012. "Japan," Conjunctura economiei mondiale / World Economic Studies, Institute for World Economy, Romanian Academy.
    13. Olivier Thévenon & Anne Solaz, 2013. "Labour Market Effects of Parental Leave Policies in OECD Countries," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 141, OECD Publishing.
    14. Noriyuki Takayama & Martin Werding (ed.), 2011. "Fertility and Public Policy: How to Reverse the Trend of Declining Birth Rates," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262014513, December.
    15. YAMAMOTO Isamu, 2014. "Female Employment and Firm Performance: An empirical analysis using firm panel data (Japanese)," Discussion Papers (Japanese) 14016, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    16. Gary S. Becker, 1960. "An Economic Analysis of Fertility," NBER Chapters, in: Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries, pages 209-240, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Andres Vikat, 2004. "Women’s labor force attachment and childbearing in Finland," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2004-001, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    18. Datta Gupta, Nabanita & Smith, Nina & Verner, Mette, 2006. "Child Care and Parental Leave in the Nordic Countries: A Model to Aspire to?," IZA Discussion Papers 2014, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Andres Vikat, 2004. "Women’s Labor Force Attachment and Childbearing in Finland," Demographic Research Special Collections, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 3(8), pages 177-212.
    20. Sauré, Philip & Zoabi, Hosny, 2014. "International trade, the gender wage gap and female labor force participation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 17-33.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Akitoby Bernardin & Honda Jiro & Miyamoto Hiroaki, 2022. "Countercyclical fiscal policy and gender employment: evidence from the G-7 countries," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, January.
    2. Gunji, Hiroshi & Miyazaki, Kenji, 2017. "Why do Japanese women work so much less than Japanese men? A business cycle accounting approach," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 45-55.
    3. Akihito Asano & Rod Tyers, 2016. "Japan's oligopolies: potential gains from third arrow reforms," CAMA Working Papers 2016-03, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    4. Dunga Steven Henry, 2017. "A Gender and Marital Status Analysis of Household Income in a Low-Income Township," Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, Sciendo, vol. 62(1), pages 20-30, April.
    5. Akihito Asano & Rod Tyers, 2015. "Third Arrow Reforms and Japan’s Economic Performance," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 15-17, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    6. Nishitateno, Shuhei & Shikata, Masato, 2017. "Has improved daycare accessibility increased Japan's maternal employment rate? Municipal evidence from 2000–2010," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 67-77.
    7. Raquel Scarpari & Timothy Clay, 2020. "Gender in Jobs Diagnostics," World Bank Publications - Reports 33364, The World Bank Group.
    8. Ingco, Katrina Nicole & Pilitro, Ver Lyon Yojie, 2016. "Stuck at a Crossroad: A Microeconometric Analysis of Fertility and Married Female Labor Force Supply in the Philippines," MPRA Paper 73351, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Ardiana Gashi & Artane Rizvanolli & Nick Adnett, 2019. "Bucking the Trend: Female Labor Market Participation in Kosovo," Croatian Economic Survey, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, vol. 21(2), pages 85-116, December.
    10. Lone Engbo Christiansen & Ms. Huidan Huidan Lin & Ms. Joana Pereira & Petia Topalova & Ms. Rima A Turk, 2016. "Individual Choice or Policies? Drivers of Female Employment in Europe," IMF Working Papers 2016/049, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Elke Loichinger & Yen-hsin Alice Cheng, 2018. "Feminising the workforce in ageing East Asia? The potential of skilled female labour in four advanced economies," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 187-215, June.
    12. Daniela Danková & Renata Halásková & Ján Šebo, 2022. "Fiscal and redistributive impacts of the introduction of dynamic components in maternity benefits," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 17(1), pages 103-131, March.
    13. Chi-Wei Su & Zheng-Zheng Li & Ran Tao & Oana-Ramona Lobonţ, 2019. "Can economic development boost the active female labor force?," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 1021-1036, March.
    14. Seema Narayan & Tri Tung Nguyen & Xuan-Hoa Nghiem, 2021. "Does Economic Integration Increase Female Labour Force Participation? Labour Force Participation?," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 24(1), pages 1-34, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. KINOSHITA Yuko & GUO Fang, 2015. "Female Labor Force Participation in Asia: Lessons from the Nordics," Discussion papers 15102, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    2. Christina Gathmann & Björn Sass, 2018. "Taxing Childcare: Effects on Childcare Choices, Family Labor Supply, and Children," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(3), pages 665-709.
    3. Anna Matysiak & Dorota Węziak-Białowolska, 2016. "Country-Specific Conditions for Work and Family Reconciliation: An Attempt at Quantification," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(4), pages 475-510, October.
    4. Simplice A. Asongu & Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem & Evans S. Osabuohien, 2019. "Globalisation and Female Economic Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 19/019, African Governance and Development Institute..
    5. Marianne Simonsen, 2010. "Price of High‐quality Daycare and Female Employment," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(3), pages 570-594, September.
    6. Simplice A. Asongu & Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem, 2017. "On the Relationship between Globalisation and the Economic Participation of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa," Research Africa Network Working Papers 17/001, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    7. Colm Harmon & Claire Finn & Arnaud Chevalier & Tarja Viitanen, 2006. "The economics of early childhood care and education : technical research paper for the National Economic and Social Forum," Open Access publications 10197/671, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    8. Christina Gathmann & Björn Sass, 2012. "Taxing Childcare: Effects on Family Labor Supply and Children," CESifo Working Paper Series 3776, CESifo.
    9. Ghazala Naz, 2010. "Effect of a Family Policy Reform on Immigrants' Labour Supply and Earnings," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 24(1), pages 74-92, March.
    10. Gahramanov, Emin & Hasanov, Rashad & Tang, Xueli, 2020. "Parental involvement and Children's human capital: A tax-subsidy experiment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 16-29.
    11. Tom Kornstad & Marit Rønsen, 2018. "Women’s Wages and Fertility Revisited Evidence from Norway," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(4), pages 491-518, October.
    12. Waliu Olawale Shittu & Norehan Abdullah & Habiba Muhammed Bello Umar, 2019. "Does Fertility Affect Female Labour Participation Differently in Malaysia and Singapore?," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 62(2), pages 201-217, June.
    13. Jonas Wood & Sebastian Klüsener & Karel Neels & Mikko Myrskylä, 2017. "Is a positive link between human development and fertility attainable? Insights from the Belgian vanguard case," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2017-014, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    14. Francesca Fiori & Francesca Rinesi & Antonella Pinnelli & Sabrina Prati, 2013. "Economic Insecurity and the Fertility Intentions of Italian Women with One Child," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 32(3), pages 373-413, June.
    15. Jonas Wood & Karel Neels & Jorik Vergauwen, 2016. "Economic and Institutional Context and Second Births in Seven European Countries," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(3), pages 305-325, June.
    16. Bansak, Cynthia & Jiang, Xuan & Yang, Guanyi, 2020. "Sibling Spillover in Rural China: A Story of Sisters and Daughters," IZA Discussion Papers 13127, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Marit Rønsen, 2009. "Long‐term Effects of Cash for Childcare on Mothers' Labour Supply," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 23(3), pages 507-533, September.
    18. Tom Kornstad & Marit Rønsen, 2014. "Women's wages and fertility revisited. Evidence from Norway," Discussion Papers 784, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    19. Florence Jaumotte, 2005. "Les femmes sur le marché du travail : Évidence empirique sur le rôle des politiques économiques et autres déterminants dans les pays de l'OCDE," Revue économique de l'OCDE, Éditions OCDE, vol. 2003(2), pages 57-123.
    20. Marianne Simonsen, 2005. "Availability and Price of High Quality Day Care and Female Employment," Economics Working Papers 2005-08, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2015/056. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Akshay Modi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imfffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.