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Female labour force participation in sub-Saharan Africa: A cohort analysis

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  • Andreas Backhaus
  • Elke Loichinger

Abstract

Female labour force participation rates have stagnated in sub-Saharan Africa since the turn of the millennium. This paper aims to explain this aggregate pattern by decomposing it into the labour supply behaviour of different birth cohorts and age groups. Using representative and repeated census data from a heterogeneous sample of sub-Saharan African countries, we show that declining female labour supply at early working age is explained by increasing school attendance among young female cohorts.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Backhaus & Elke Loichinger, 2021. "Female labour force participation in sub-Saharan Africa: A cohort analysis," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-60, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-60
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Keywords

    Labour supply; Gender; Sub-Saharan Africa; Demographic dividend; Female labour force participation;
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