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Deceleration in female labor force participation in Latin America

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  • Gasparini, Leonardo
  • Marchionni, Mariana

Abstract

After half a century of sustained growth, female labor force participation has decelerated in Latin America, especially among married vulnerable women. Based on a large database of microdata from household surveys, this paper documents this recent deceleration and provides evidence on the determinants. We argue that the fast economic growth experienced by the region in the 2000s was an important driving force: lower unemployment and higher earnings of male partners plus increased social assistance may have reduced the pressing need for vulnerable women to take low-quality jobs.

Suggested Citation

  • Gasparini, Leonardo & Marchionni, Mariana, 2017. "Deceleration in female labor force participation in Latin America," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 123208, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:123208
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/123208/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Blau, Francine D. & Kahn, Lawrence M., 2013. "Female Labor Supply: Why is the US Falling Behind?," IZA Discussion Papers 7140, IZA Network @ LISER.
    2. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2013. "Female Labor Supply: Why Is the United States Falling Behind?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 251-256, May.
    3. Ximena Pena & Raquel Bernal & Diego Amador, 2013. "The rise in female participation in Colombia: Fertility, marital status or education?," Revista ESPE - Ensayos Sobre Política Económica, Banco de la República, vol. 31(71), pages 54-63.
    4. Florencia Torche, 2010. "Educational assortative mating and economic inequality: A comparative analysis of three Latin American countries," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(2), pages 481-502, May.
    5. Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni, 2015. "Bridging Gender Gaps? The Rise and Deceleration of Female Labor Force Participation in Latin America: An overview," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0185, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
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    Cited by:

    1. Diego Danny ONTANEDA JIMÉNEZ & Wilson Alejandro GUZMÁN ESPINOZA & Luis Rodrigo MENDIETA MUÑOZ & Monica RĂILEANU SZELES, 2022. "Cohort Analysis of Labor Participation and Sectoral Composition of Employment in Ecuador," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(3), pages 67-87, October.
    2. Juan Pedro Eberhard & Javier Fernandez & Catalina Lauer, 2023. "Effects of maternity on labor outcomes and employment quality for women in Chile," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 2232965-223, December.
    3. Iregui-Bohórquez, Ana María & Melo-Becerra, Ligia Alba & Ramírez-Giraldo, María Teresa & Tribín-Uribe, Ana María & Zárate-Solano, Héctor M., 2024. "Unraveling the factors behind women’s empowerment in the labor market in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    4. Estefanía Galván, 2022. "Gender Identity and Quality of Employment," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(354), pages 409-436, April.
    5. Porto Natalia & Carella Laura & Rucci Ana Clara & Velazquez Cecilia, 2023. "Children living with disabilities and mother`s labor supply in developing countries: evidence from Argentina," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4686, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    6. Sehnbruch, Kirsten & Prieto Suarez, Joaquin & Vidal, Diego, 2025. "Stuck in a bad job? The dynamics of poor-quality employment in Chile, 2004–2019," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 128576, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Santiago Garganta & Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni, 2017. "Cash transfers and female labor force participation: the case of AUH in Argentina," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-22, December.
    8. Guido Neidhöfer & Miguel Niño‐Zarazúa, 2019. "The Long(er)‐Term Impacts of Chile Solidario on Human Capital and Labor Income," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 45(S1), pages 209-244, December.
    9. Echeverría, Lucía & Menon, Martina & Perali, Federico & Berges, Miriam, 2019. "Intra-household inequality and child welfare in Argentina," Nülan. Deposited Documents 3051, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    10. Svetlana Pimkina & Luciana de La Flor, 2020. "Promoting Female Labor Force Participation," World Bank Publications - Reports 34953, The World Bank Group.
    11. Mariano Tommasi & María Edo & Agustina Thailinger, 2021. "Familia y desarrollo humano en el siglo XXI. Revisión de la literatura internacional y algunos apuntes para el caso argentino," Working Papers 152, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised May 2021.
    12. Serrano, Joaquín & Gasparini, Leonardo & Marchionni, Mariana & Glüzmann, Pablo, 2019. "Economic cycle and deceleration of female labor force participation in Latin America," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 53, pages 1-013.
    13. Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren & Penglase, Jacob, 2023. "Changes in assortative matching and educational inequality: evidence from marriage and birth records in Mexico," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(4), pages 587-607, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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