IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unu/wpaper/wp-2021-154.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Gender and vulnerable employment in the developing world: Evidence from global microdata

Author

Listed:
  • Maria C. Lo Bue
  • Tu Thi Ngoc Le
  • Manuel Santos Silva
  • Kunal Sen

Abstract

This paper investigates gender inequality in vulnerable employment: forms of employment typically featuring high precariousness, inadequate earnings, and lack of decent working conditions. Using a large collection of harmonized household surveys from developing countries, we measure long-term trends, describe geographical patterns, and estimate correlates of gender inequalities in vulnerable employment. Conditional on individual and household characteristics, women are 7 percentage points more likely to be in vulnerable employment than men.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria C. Lo Bue & Tu Thi Ngoc Le & Manuel Santos Silva & Kunal Sen, 2021. "Gender and vulnerable employment in the developing world: Evidence from global microdata," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-154, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-154
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2021-154-gender-vulnerable-employment-developing-world-evidence-microdata.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jérôme Adda & Christian Dustmann & Katrien Stevens, 2017. "The Career Costs of Children," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(2), pages 293-337.
    2. Manuel Santos Silva & Stephan Klasen, 2021. "Gender inequality as a barrier to economic growth: a review of the theoretical literature," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 581-614, September.
    3. Bertrand, Marianne, 2011. "New Perspectives on Gender," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 17, pages 1543-1590, Elsevier.
    4. Rémi BAZILLIER & Cristina BOBOC & Oana CALAVREZO, 2016. "Measuring employment vulnerability in Europe," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 155(2), pages 265-280, June.
    5. Grimm, Michael & Knorringa, Peter & Lay, Jann, 2012. "Constrained Gazelles: High Potentials in West Africa’s Informal Economy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1352-1368.
    6. Elizabeth Ty Wilde & Lily Batchelder & David T. Ellwood, 2010. "The Mommy Track Divides: The Impact of Childbearing on Wages of Women of Differing Skill Levels," NBER Working Papers 16582, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    8. Jayachandran, Seema, 2020. "Microentrepreneurship in Developing Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 12943, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Marie Hyland & Simeon Djankov & Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, 2020. "Gendered Laws and Women in the Workforce," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 475-490, December.
    10. David McKenzie & Anna Luisa Paffhausen, 2019. "Small Firm Death in Developing Countries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 645-657, October.
    11. Rijkers, Bob & Costa, Rita, 2012. "Gender and Rural Non-Farm Entrepreneurship," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(12), pages 2411-2426.
    12. Gindling, T.H. & Newhouse, David, 2014. "Self-Employment in the Developing World," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 313-331.
    13. Stephanie Seguino & Elissa Braunstein, 2019. "The Costs of Exclusion: Gender Job Segregation, Structural Change and the Labour Share of Income," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 50(4), pages 976-1008, July.
    14. Stephan Klasen & TU THI NGOC Le & Janneke Pieters & Manuel Santos Silva, 2021. "What Drives Female Labour Force Participation? Comparable Micro-level Evidence from Eight Developing and Emerging Economies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(3), pages 417-442, March.
    15. Suresh de Mel & David McKenzie & Christopher Woodruff, 2009. "Returns to Capital in Microenterprises: Evidence from a Field Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(1), pages 423-423.
    16. Fafchamps, Marcel & McKenzie, David & Quinn, Simon & Woodruff, Christopher, 2014. "Microenterprise growth and the flypaper effect: Evidence from a randomized experiment in Ghana," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 211-226.
    17. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Johanna Posch & Andreas Steinhauer & Josef Zweimüller, 2019. "Child Penalties across Countries: Evidence and Explanations," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 122-126, May.
    18. Bardhan Ashok & Tang John, 2010. "What Kind of Job is Safer? A Note on Occupational Vulnerability," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-17, January.
    19. Hallward-Driemeier, Mary & Gajigo, Ousman, 2015. "Strengthening Economic Rights and Women’s Occupational Choice: The Impact of Reforming Ethiopia’s Family Law," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 260-273.
    20. Mary Borrowman & Stephan Klasen, 2020. "Drivers of Gendered Sectoral and Occupational Segregation in Developing Countries," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 62-94, April.
    21. Altonji, Joseph G. & Blank, Rebecca M., 1999. "Race and gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 48, pages 3143-3259, Elsevier.
    22. T. H. Gindling & Nadwa Mossaad & David Newhouse, 2016. "How Large are Earnings Penalties for Self-Employed and Informal Wage Workers?," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-39, December.
    23. Harris, John R & Todaro, Michael P, 1970. "Migration, Unemployment & Development: A Two-Sector Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 60(1), pages 126-142, March.
    24. Diksha Arora & Elissa Braunstein & Stephanie Seguino, 2021. "A macro-micro analysis of gender segregation and job quality in Latin America," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-86, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    25. David McKenzie, 2017. "Identifying and Spurring High-Growth Entrepreneurship: Experimental Evidence from a Business Plan Competition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2278-2307, August.
    26. Seema Jayachandran, 2021. "Social Norms as a Barrier to Women’s Employment in Developing Countries," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 69(3), pages 576-595, September.
    27. Petrongolo, Barbara & Ronchi, Maddalena, 2020. "Gender gaps and the structure of local labor markets," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    28. Nikolay Angelov & Per Johansson & Erica Lindahl, 2016. "Parenthood and the Gender Gap in Pay," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(3), pages 545-579.
    29. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3143-3259 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. James Heintz & Naila Kabeer & Simeen Mahmud, 2018. "Cultural norms, economic incentives and women’s labour market behaviour: empirical insights from Bangladesh," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 266-289, April.
    31. Asif Islam & Silvia Muzi & Mohammad Amin, 2019. "Unequal Laws and the Disempowerment of Women in the Labour Market: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 822-844, May.
    32. Chinhui Juhn & Kristin McCue, 2017. "Specialization Then and Now: Marriage, Children, and the Gender Earnings Gap across Cohorts," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 183-204, Winter.
    33. Arielle Bernhardt & Erica Field & Rohini Pande & Natalia Rigol, 2019. "Household Matters: Revisiting the Returns to Capital among Female Microentrepreneurs," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 141-160, September.
    34. Nagler, Paula & Naudé, Wim, 2017. "Non-farm entrepreneurship in rural sub-Saharan Africa: New empirical evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 175-191.
    35. Juan Pablo Rud & Ija Trapeznikova, 2021. "Job Creation and Wages in Least Developed Countries: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(635), pages 1331-1364.
    36. Morgan Hardy & Gisella Kagy, 2018. "Mind The (Profit) Gap: Why Are Female Enterprise Owners Earning Less Than Men?," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 252-255, May.
    37. Halim,Daniel Zefanya & Perova,Elizaveta & Reynolds,Sarah, 2021. "Childcare and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9828, The World Bank.
    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. Berniell, Inés & Berniell, Lucila & de la Mata, Dolores & Edo, María & Marchionni, Mariana, 2023. "Motherhood and flexible jobs: Evidence from Latin American countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Gutmann, Jerg & Marchal, Léa & Simsek, Betül, 2023. "Women's Rights and the Gender Migration Gap," ILE Working Paper Series 67, University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics.
    3. Jamelia Harris, 2023. "Opting out of public sector employment: Gender and occupational aspirations among university graduates in Sierra Leone," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(5), pages 897-914, July.
    4. Ahiadorme, Johnson Worlanyo & Akoto, Linda, 2023. "The fourth quarter dip in unemployment rates in Ghana: A systematic account of labour market activities in 2022," MPRA Paper 120311, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Abdullah Erkul & İbrahim Külünk, 2022. "Vulnerable employment in developing economies: The case of sub‐Saharan African countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(3), pages 381-394, September.

    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. Islam, Asif M. & Amin, Mohammad, 2023. "The gender labor productivity gap across informal firms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Bütikofer, Aline & Jensen, Sissel & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2018. "The role of parenthood on the gender gap among top earners," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 103-123.
    3. Francesconi, Marco & Parey, Matthias, 2018. "Early gender gaps among university graduates," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 63-82.
    4. Estefanía Galván & Cecilia García-Peñalosa, 2021. "Interactions amongst gender norms: Evidence from US couples," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 21-15, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    5. Nieto, Adrián, 2021. "Native-immigrant differences in the effect of children on the gender pay gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 654-680.
    6. Rick Glaubitz & Astrid Harnack-Eber & Miriam Wetter, 2022. "The Gender Gap in Lifetime Earnings: The Role of Parenthood," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2001, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Gazeaud, Jules & Khan, Nausheen & Mvukiyehe, Eric & Sterck, Olivier, 2023. "With or without him? Experimental evidence on cash grants and gender-sensitive trainings in Tunisia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    8. Catia Batista & Sandra Sequeira & Pedro C. Vicente, 2022. "Closing the Gender Profit Gap?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(12), pages 8553-8567, December.
    9. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais, 2017. "Gender Inequality and Economic Development: Fertility, Education and Norms," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 84(334), pages 180-209, April.
    10. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 181-209, October.
    11. Cemal Eren Arbatlı & Quamrul H. Ashraf & Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2020. "Diversity and Conflict," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 727-797, March.
    12. Salvanes, Kjell G & Johnsen, Julian Vedeler & Ku, Hyejin, 2020. "Competition and Career Advancement: The Hidden Costs of Paid Leave," CEPR Discussion Papers 15157, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Petrongolo, Barbara & Ronchi, Maddalena, 2020. "Gender gaps and the structure of local labor markets," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    14. Artmann, Elisabeth & Oosterbeek, Hessel & van der Klaauw, Bas, 2022. "Household specialization and the child penalty in the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Inés Berniell & Lucila Berniell & Dolores de la Mata & María Edo & Yarine Fawaz & Matilde P. Machado & Mariana Marchionni, 2020. "Motherhood and the Allocation of Talent," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0270, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    16. Aurélie Dariel & Nikos Nikiforakis, 2022. "Is There a Motherhood Gap in the Willingness to Compete for Pay?," Working Papers 20220079, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Sep 2022.
    17. Glaubitz, Rick & Harnack-Eber, Astrid & Wetter, Miriam, 2022. "The gender gap in lifetime earnings: The role of parenthood," Discussion Papers 2022/3, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    18. David McKenzie & Anna Luisa Paffhausen, 2019. "Small Firm Death in Developing Countries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 645-657, October.
    19. Nayoung Rim & Kyung Park, 2017. "The Gendered Effects of Career Concerns on Fertility," Departmental Working Papers 59, United States Naval Academy Department of Economics.
    20. Cemal Eren Arbath & Quamral H. Ashraf & Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2018. "Diversity and Conflict," Working Papers 2018-6, Brown University, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vulnerable employment; Gender gap; Developing countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-154. 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: Siméon Rapin (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/widerfi.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.