IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ocp/rtrade/rp-21-03.html

Trade, Infrastructure, and Female Participation in Labor Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Mina Baliamoune

Abstract

We provide evidence on the direct and indirect effects of trade and infrastructure on women’s participation in the labor force. We use panel data from 91 developing and emerging economies, and examine the impacts of openness to international trade and three indicators of infrastructure (access to electricity, mobile phone subscriptions and internet use) on female labor force participation. Fixed-effects and instrumental variable fixed-effects estimates suggest that both trade and access to electricity have non-linear (U-shape) effects on female labor force participation, and have additional region-specific impacts which are negative in the case of the Middle East and North Africa, and positive in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, but do not seem to have additional effects from interactions with each other. On the other hand, we find that mobile phone and internet use boost women’s labor force participation through their interplay with trade. We discuss the policy implications of these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Mina Baliamoune, 2021. "Trade, Infrastructure, and Female Participation in Labor Markets," Research papers & Policy papers on Trade Dynamics and Policies 2103, Policy Center for the New South.
    • Handle: RePEc:ocp:rtrade:rp-21-03
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.policycenter.ma/sites/default/files/2022-01/RP-21-03-Mina-Baliamoune.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dave Donaldson, 2018. "Railroads of the Raj: Estimating the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(4-5), pages 899-934, April.
    2. Yadav Niru, 2014. "The Role of Internet Use on International Trade: Evidence from Asian and Sub-Saharan African Enterprises," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 14(2), pages 189-214, April.
    3. Jeremy Greenwood & Ananth Seshadri & Mehmet Yorukoglu, 2005. "Engines of Liberation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(1), pages 109-133.
    4. Nordås, Hildegunn Kyvik & Piermartini, Roberta, 2004. "Infrastructure and trade," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2004-04, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    5. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2121-2168, October.
    6. Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Advancement: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Research Africa Network Working Papers 18/005, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    7. Ozler, Sule, 2000. "Export Orientation and Female Share of Employment: Evidence from Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 1239-1248, July.
    8. George Akpandjar & Carl Kitchens, 2017. "From Darkness to Light: The Effect of Electrification in Ghana, 2000–2010," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(1), pages 31-54.
    9. Nkoumou Ngoa, Gaston Brice & Song, Jacques Simon, 2021. "Female participation in African labor markets: The role of information and communication technologies," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9).
    10. Jeffrey Bernstein & Theofanis Mamuneas, 2008. "Public infrastructure, input efficiency and productivity growth in the Canadian food processing industry," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 1-13, February.
    11. Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology Advancement: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 86(2), pages 231-246, June.
    12. Simone Tagliapietra & Giovanni Occhiali & Enrico Nano & Robert Kalcik, 2020. "The impact of electrification on labour market outcomes in Nigeria," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(3), pages 737-779, October.
    13. Taryn Dinkelman, 2011. "The Effects of Rural Electrification on Employment: New Evidence from South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3078-3108, December.
    14. Chen, Zhihong & Ge, Ying & Lai, Huiwen & Wan, Chi, 2013. "Globalization and Gender Wage Inequality in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 256-266.
    15. Sedai, Ashish Kumar & Vasudevan, Ramaa & Pena, Anita Alves & Miller, Ray, 2021. "Does reliable electrification reduce gender differences? Evidence from India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 580-601.
    16. Chhay, Panharoth & Yamazaki, Koji, 2021. "Rural electrification and changes in employment structure in Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    17. 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.
    18. Boniface Ngah Epo & Ronie Bertrand Nguenkwe, 2020. "Information and Communication Technology and Intra-Regional Trade in the Economic Community of West African States: Ambivalent or Complementary?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1397-1412.
    19. Bougheas, Spiros & Demetriades, Panicos O. & Morgenroth, Edgar L. W., 1999. "Infrastructure, transport costs and trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 169-189, February.
    20. Stephanie Seguino, 1997. "Gender wage inequality and export-led growth in South Korea," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(2), pages 102-132.
    21. Baliamoune–Lutz, Mina & McGillivray, Mark, 2015. "The impact of gender inequality in education on income in Africa and the Middle East," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-11.
    22. Lei Lei & Sonalde Desai & Reeve Vanneman, 2019. "The Impact of Transportation Infrastructure on Women's Employment in India," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 94-125, October.
    23. Francois, Joseph & Manchin, Miriam, 2013. "Institutions, Infrastructure, and Trade," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 165-175.
    24. T. D. Stanley & Hristos Doucouliagos & Piers Steel, 2018. "Does Ict Generate Economic Growth? A Meta†Regression Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 705-726, July.
    25. Elissaios Papyrakis & Arlette Covarrubias & Arjan Verschoor, 2012. "Gender and Trade Aspects of Labour Markets," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 81-98, December.
    26. Geginat, Carolin & Ramalho, Rita, 2018. "Electricity connections and firm performance in 183 countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 344-366.
    27. Matthias Busse & Christian Spielmann, 2006. "Gender Inequality and Trade," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 362-379, August.
    28. Grogan, Louise & Sadanand, Asha, 2013. "Rural Electrification and Employment in Poor Countries: Evidence from Nicaragua," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 252-265.
    29. Juhn, Chinhui & Ujhelyi, Gergely & Villegas-Sanchez, Carolina, 2014. "Men, women, and machines: How trade impacts gender inequality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 179-193.
    30. Elsa Kyander, 2020. "Trade Liberalisation and Female Employment in Manufacturing: Evidence from India," CSAE Working Paper Series 2020-22, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    31. Douglas R. Dalenberg & Mark D. Partridge, 1997. "Public Infrastructure and Wages: Public Capital's Role as a Productive Input and Household Amenity," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 73(2), pages 268-284.
    32. David Bloom & David Canning & Günther Fink & Jocelyn Finlay, 2009. "Fertility, female labor force participation, and the demographic dividend," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 79-101, June.
    33. Alex Trew, 2020. "Endogenous Infrastructure Development and Spatial Takeoff in the First Industrial Revolution," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 44-93, April.
    34. George R. G. Clarke & Scott J. Wallsten, 2006. "Has the Internet Increased Trade? Developed and Developing Country Evidence," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 44(3), pages 465-484, July.
    35. Lusi Liao & Sasiwimon W Paweenawat, 2020. "Is there a wage penalty for occupational feminization? Evidence from Thai labor market," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(3), pages 2143-2153.
    36. Menon, Nidhiya & Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen, 2009. "International Trade and the Gender Wage Gap: New Evidence from India's Manufacturing Sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 965-981, May.
    37. Daniel F. Martinez & Oscar A. Mitnik & Edgar Salgado & Lynn Scholl & Patricia Yañez-Pagans, 2020. "Connecting to Economic Opportunity: the Role of Public Transport in Promoting Women’s Employment in Lima," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-23, March.
    38. Niru Yadav, 2014. "The Role of Internet Use on International Trade: Evidence from Asian and Sub-Saharan African Enterprises," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(2), pages 189-214, June.
    39. Günseli Berik & Yana van der Meulen Rodgers & Joseph E. Zveglich, 2004. "International Trade and Gender Wage Discrimination: Evidence from East Asia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 237-254, May.
    40. Musiliu O. Oseni & Michael G. Pollitt, 2013. "The Economic Costs of Unsupplied Electricity: Evidence from Backup Generation among African Firms," Working Papers EPRG 1326, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    41. Barro, Robert J, 1990. "Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogenous Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 103-126, October.
    42. Lars-Hendrik Roller & Leonard Waverman, 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 909-923, September.
    43. César Calderón & Enrique Moral‐Benito & Luis Servén, 2015. "Is infrastructure capital productive? A dynamic heterogeneous approach," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 177-198, March.
    44. Hyunbae Chun & Jeungil Oh, 2002. "An instrumental variable estimate of the effect of fertility on the labour force participation of married women," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(10), pages 631-634.
    45. Sarra Ben Yahmed & Pamela Bombarda, 2020. "Gender, Informal Employment and Trade Liberalization in Mexico," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 259-283.
    46. Faheem Ur Rehman & Abul Ala Noman & Yibing Ding, 2020. "Does infrastructure increase exports and reduce trade deficit? Evidence from selected South Asian countries using a new Global Infrastructure Index," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    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. Ekene ThankGod Emeka & Simplice A. Asongu & Yolande E. Ngoungou, 2024. "Gender economic inclusion, governance institutions and economic complexity in Africa," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 5639-5658, October.

    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. repec:ocp:rptrad:rp-21-03 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. repec:ocp:rpaper:rp-2103 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. repec:ocp:rpecon:rp-21-03 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Mina Baliamoune, 2024. "Trade And Women In The Labor Market: How Different Is MENA From Other Regions?," Research papers & Policy papers on Economic Trends and Policies 2417, Policy Center for the New South.
    5. Mina Baliamoune, 2020. "Trade and Women’s Wage Employment," Research papers & Policy papers on Trade Dynamics and Policies 2001, Policy Center for the New South.
    6. Gupta, Tanu & Khan, Md. Tajuddin & Negi, Digvijay Singh, 2025. "Agriculture, electrification and gendered time use in rural Bangladesh," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    7. repec:ocp:rptrad:rp_20-01 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. repec:ocp:rpaper:pp-1908 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Fang, Lei & Fu, Fia Yi & Zhao, Jinsong & McCarl, Bruce A. & Yu, Chin-Hsien, 2025. "What does urban-rural equality bring to gender equality? A story of electrification," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    10. repec:ocp:rpecon:rp_20-01 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. repec:ocp:rpaper:rp-1909 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Pamela E. Ofori & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2021. "The Synergy between Governance and Economic Integration in Promoting Female Economic Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 21/071, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    13. Pamela E. Ofori & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou & Raufhon Salahodjaev, 2023. "The Synergy between Governance and Trade Openness in Promoting Female Economic Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Africa SEER Centre(ASC) 23/006, Africa SEER Centre(ASC).
    14. L. Alan Winters & Antonio Martuscelli, 2014. "Trade Liberalization and Poverty: What Have We Learned in a Decade?," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 493-512, October.
    15. Banerjee, Utsa & Peñarrieta, Luis Castro & Chakraborty, Pavel, 2025. "Can trade policy change gender equality? Evidence from Chile," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    16. Wan, Guanghua & Wang, Chen & Zhang, Xun & Zuo, Congming, 2024. "Income inequality effect of public utility infrastructure: Evidence from rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    17. Small, Sarah F. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana, 2023. "The gendered effects of investing in physical and social infrastructure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    18. repec:uii:journl:v:10:y:2018:i:1:p:82-92 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Josh Ederington & Jenny Minier & Kenneth R. Troske, 2024. "Trade and labor market segregation in Colombia," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1645-1670, September.
    20. Veeramani, Choorikkad & Banerjee, Purna, 2022. "Exchange rate fluctuations, labour laws, and gender differences in job flows: Analysis of manufacturing industries across Indian states," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    21. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Ahmed, Khalid & Nawaz, Kishwar & Ali, Amjad, 2019. "Modelling the gender inequality in Pakistan: A macroeconomic perspective," MPRA Paper 97502, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Dec 2019.
    22. Hyejoon Im & Hisamitsu Saito, 2024. "Does offshoring raise female employment in a developing country? Evidence from Indonesian manufacturing plants," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 2608-2630, June.
    23. Connolly, Laura, 2022. "The effects of a trade shock on gender-specific labor market outcomes in Brazil," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    24. Rotunno, Lorenzo & Roy, Sanchari & Sakakibara, Anri & Vezina, Pierre-Louis, 2023. "Trade Policy and Jobs in Vietnam: The Unintended Consequences of Trump’s Trade War," SocArXiv 9rdne, Center for Open Science.
    25. Kaveri Deb & William R. Hauk, 2020. "The Impact of Chinese Imports on Indian Wage Inequality," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(2), pages 267-290, June.
    26. Dix-Carneiro, Rafael & Kovak, Brian K., 2023. "Globalization and Inequality in Latin America," IZA Discussion Papers 16363, IZA Network @ LISER.
    27. Verma, Priyam, 2024. "Optimal Infrastructure after Trade Reform in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    28. Felipe Benguria & Josh Ederington, 2023. "Decomposing the effect of trade on the gender wage gap," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(3), pages 1082-1120, August.

    More about this item

    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:ocp:rtrade:rp-21-03. 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: Policy Center for the New South's Customer service The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Policy Center for the New South's Customer service to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ocppcma.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.