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Cultural norms, economic incentives and women's labour market behaviour: Empirical insights from Bangladesh

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  • Heinz, James
  • Kabeer, Naila
  • Mahmud, Simeen

Abstract

This paper sets out to explore a seeming puzzle in the context of Bangladesh. There is a considerable body of evidence from the country pointing to the positive impact of paid work on women’s position within family and community. Yet, according to official statistics, not only has women’s labour force participation risen very slowly over the years, but also a sizeable majority of women in the labour force are in unpaid family labour. We draw on an original survey of over 5000 women from eight different districts in Bangladesh to explore some of the factors that lead to women’s selection into the labour force, and into different categories of labour market activity, with a view to gaining a better understanding of the combination of cultural norms and economic considerations that explain these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Heinz, James & Kabeer, Naila & Mahmud, Simeen, 2017. "Cultural norms, economic incentives and women's labour market behaviour: Empirical insights from Bangladesh," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 84316, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:84316
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/84316/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Bank, 2008. "Whispers to Voices," World Bank Publications - Reports 26334, The World Bank Group.
    2. repec:ilo:ilowps:483489 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Mahmud, Simeen, 2003. "Is Bangladesh Experiencing Feminization of the Labor Force?," Bangladesh Development Studies, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), vol. 29(1-2), pages 1-38, March-Jun.
    4. Neff, Daniel & Sen, Kunal & Kling, Veronika, 2012. "The Puzzling Decline in Rural Women's Labor Force Participation in India: A Reexamination," GIGA Working Papers 196, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    5. Asadullah, M. Niaz & Savoia, Antonio & Mahmud, Wahiduddin, 2014. "Paths to Development: Is there a Bangladesh Surprise?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 138-154.
    6. Hossain, Mahabub & Bose, Manik Lal & Ahmad, Alia, 2004. "Nature and impact of women's participation in economic activities in rural Bangladesh: insights from household surveys," Working Papers 2004:20, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    7. Rahman, Rushidan I. & Islam, Rizwanul., 2013. "Female labour force participation in Bangladesh : trends, drivers and barriers," ILO Working Papers 994834893402676, International Labour Organization.
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    9. James Heintz & Lynda Pickbourn, 2012. "The Determinants of Selection into Non-agricultural Self-employment in Ghana," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 6(2), pages 181-209, May.
    10. Heckman, James J. & Lalonde, Robert J. & Smith, Jeffrey A., 1999. "The economics and econometrics of active labor market programs," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1865-2097, Elsevier.
    11. Sarah Bridges & David Lawson & Sharifa Begum, 2011. "Labour Market Outcomes in Bangladesh: The Role of Poverty and Gender Norms," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 23(3), pages 459-487, July.
    12. Khandker, Shahidur R, 1987. "Labor Market Participation of Married Women in Bangladesh," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(3), pages 536-541, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Najeeb,Fatima & Morales,Matias & Lopez-Acevedo,Gladys C., 2020. "Analyzing Female Employment Trends in South Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9157, The World Bank.
    2. Sana Khalil, "undated". "Structures of constraint and women’s paid work in Pakistan," Review of Socio - Economic Perspectives 202186, Reviewsep.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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