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Economic Cycle and Deceleration of Female Labor Force Participation in Latin America

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  • Serrano, Joaquín
  • Gasparini, Leonardo
  • Marchionni, Mariana
  • Gluzmann, Pablo

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the role of economic growth in the recent deceleration of female labor force participation (LFP) in Latin America. We study the relationship between the business cycle and female LFP by estimating fixed effects models, using data from harmonized national household surveys of 18 countries in the period 1987-2014. We find that female LFP follows a countercyclical pattern, especially for vulnerable women, which may be explained by the added-worker effect. The sudden and fast increase in economic growth in the 2000s is then a likely relevant factor behind the deceleration in female LFP. We also provide evidence that the increase in social protection is another factor associated with the deceleration of female labor supply in the region.

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  • Serrano, Joaquín & Gasparini, Leonardo & Marchionni, Mariana & Gluzmann, Pablo, 2018. "Economic Cycle and Deceleration of Female Labor Force Participation in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8857, Inter-American Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:8857
    DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001076
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    4. Acevedo, Ivonne & Castellani, Francesca & Lotti, Giulia & Székely, Miguel, 2022. "Labor Market Gender Gaps in the Time of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12568, Inter-American Development Bank.
    5. Maridueña-Larrea, Ángel & Martín-Román, Ángel L., 2023. "The unemployment invariance hypothesis and the implications of added and discouraged worker effects in Latin America," MPRA Paper 115966, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    8. Daniel Chiquiar & Aldo Heffner, 2024. "Efectos heterogéneos de la pandemia del COVID-19 sobre el empleo femenino y masculino en México/Heterogeneous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Mexico’s female and male employment," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 39(1), pages 3-59.
    9. Alice Evans, 2019. "How Cities Erode Gender Inequality: A New Theory and Evidence from Cambodia," CID Working Papers 356, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    10. Grace Armijos-Bravo & Segundo Camino-Mogro, 2023. "Covid-19 Lockdown in Ecuador: Are there Gender Differences in Unemployment?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(6), pages 833-853, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Latin America; economic cycle; female labor force participation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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