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How Women Have Fared with the Rise of the People’s Republic of China in Global Supply Chain Trade

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Limin

    (World Bank)

  • Kanji, Shireen

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Jha, Shikha

    (Asian Development Bank)

  • Meurs, Mieke E.

    (American University)

Abstract

Global supply chain (GSC) trade has been a driving force underlying economic transformation, urbanization, and social change in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Female migrants account for a large share of the labor force in the country’s GSC production base. Using province-level panel data, this study employs regression analysis to examine how the country’s rapid integration into the supply chain has affected women’s welfare outcomes captured by occupational status. The analysis shows mixed results. On the one hand, global integration through trade expansion improved the concentration of men and women equally in professional and skilled occupations and in management positions. On the other hand, female employment in manufacturing for GSC trade increased faster than male employment. This trend decreased in turn the male–female sex ratio among those aged 0–4 years. This finding is consistent with other studies on the PRC that confirm the beneficial effect of a relative rise in women’s income in reducing the sex imbalance. Gender-specific policies should support female migrants in moving up the job ladder in GSC trade through higher education and skills training for professional and leadership positions. This should be complemented with incentives for the private sector—the biggest source of employment in the PRC—to promote gender equality by harnessing the advancement in technology and opportunities offered by the rapid growth of GSC trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Limin & Kanji, Shireen & Jha, Shikha & Meurs, Mieke E., 2017. "How Women Have Fared with the Rise of the People’s Republic of China in Global Supply Chain Trade," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 514, Asian Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbewp:0514
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shang-Jin Wei & Xiaobo Zhang, 2011. "The Competitive Saving Motive: Evidence from Rising Sex Ratios and Savings Rates in China," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(3), pages 511-564.
    2. Shepherd, Ben & Stone, Susan, 2017. "Trade and Women," ADBI Working Papers 648, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    3. Richard Baldwin & Javier Lopez-Gonzalez, 2015. "Supply-chain Trade: A Portrait of Global Patterns and Several Testable Hypotheses," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(11), pages 1682-1721, November.
    4. Nancy Qian, 2008. "Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China: The Effect of Sex-Specific Earnings on Sex Imbalance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(3), pages 1251-1285.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    global supply chain; People’s Republic of China; trade; women;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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