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Effects of Trade on Female Labor Force Participation

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  • Saure, Philip
  • Zoabi, Hosny

Abstract

This paper uncovers a counter-intuitive effect of international trade on female labor shares: whenever trade expands, sectors intensive in female labor, female labor shares drop and vice versa. According to our key assumption a rising capital labor ratio closes the gender wage gap. The paper’s mechanism operates as follows. Expansions of sectors intensive in female labor come along with contractions of sectors intensive in male labor. These contractions imply that male labor reallocates to sectors intensive in female labor. The capital labor ratio in the latter sectors drops, which widens the gender wage gap and causes a decrease in aggregate female labor shares. Based on instrumented U.S.-Mexican trade flows, we provide empirical evidence in support of our theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Saure, Philip & Zoabi, Hosny, 2010. "Effects of Trade on Female Labor Force Participation," Foerder Institute for Economic Research Working Papers 275733, Tel-Aviv University > Foerder Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:isfiwp:275733
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.275733
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    Cited by:

    1. Justina A.V. Fischer, 2015. "Globalized Markets, Globalized Information, and Female Employment: Accounting for Regional Differences in 30 OECD Countries," AIEL Series in Labour Economics, in: Chiara Mussida & Francesco Pastore (ed.), Geographical Labor Market Imbalances. Recent Explanations and Cures, edition 1, chapter 13, pages Universit, AIEL - Associazione Italiana Economisti del Lavoro.
    2. Audi, Marc & Ali, Amjad, 2016. "Gender Gap and Trade Liberalization: An Analysis of some selected SAARC countries," MPRA Paper 83520, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Silvio Contessi & Francesca de Nicola & Li Li, 2014. "International trade, female labor and entrepreneurship in MENA countries," Chapters, in: Carlo Altomonte & Massimiliano Ferrara (ed.), The Economic and Political Aftermath of the Arab Spring, chapter 4, pages 106-140, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Mizuki Komura & Hikaru Ogawa, 2019. "Capital market integration and gender inequality," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 1387-1413, August.
    5. Beyza Ural Marchand & Ray Rees & Raymond Riezman, 2011. "Globalization, Gender and Development: The Effect of Parental Labor Supply on Child Schooling," CESifo Working Paper Series 3341, CESifo.
    6. Beyza Ural Marchand & Ray Rees & Raymond Riezman, 2013. "The effect of parental labor supply on child schooling: evidence from trade liberalization in India," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 151-173, June.
    7. Veysel Avsar, 2014. "Import Protection And Female Labor," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 59(05), pages 1-8.
    8. 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.
    9. Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys & Robertson, Raymond, 2012. "The Promise and Peril of Post-MFA Apparel Production," World Bank - Economic Premise, The World Bank, issue 84, pages 1-4, May.
    10. Isis Gaddis & Janneke Pieters, 2017. "The Gendered Labor Market Impacts of Trade Liberalization: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(2), pages 457-490.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial Economics; Labor and Human Capital;

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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