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The ABCs of the Role of Public Transport in Women’s Economic Empowerment

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  • Alam, Muneeza Mehmood
  • Bagnoli, Lisa Serena
  • Kerzhner, Tamara

Abstract

There is increasing recognition that deficiencies in the public transport system impact men and women differently. While transport systems have been shown to play a significant role in women’s participation in the labor force globally, this topic has been little explored in the Middle East and North Africa. This paper examines the effect of the spatial accessibility, availability, and safety of public transportation on women’s labor market outcomes in three capital cities in the Middle East and North Africa—Amman in Jordan, Beirut in Lebanon, and Cairo in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The analysis uses three types of data collected for each city in 2022, namely, household mobility surveys, transit network data, and built environment audits. The paper investigates how the spatial accessibility of jobs in each city, the availability of public transportation close to residential locations, and the safety of public transit stops affect the labor force participation of women and their likelihood of employment. The main findings are that: (a) accessibility, availability, and safety appear to impact women’s labor force participation differentially in each city, and these impacts also vary by income level; and (b) although accessibility, availability, and safety appear to impact women’s labor force participation, they have overall little impact on women’s employment probability. The paper takes these two findings to imply that: (a) a one-size-fits-all-women solution is not appropriate when designing public transport systems; and (b) although public transport plays a critical role in improving women’s access to employment opportunities, complementary actions are needed to translate these gains into gainful employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Alam, Muneeza Mehmood & Bagnoli, Lisa Serena & Kerzhner, Tamara, 2023. "The ABCs of the Role of Public Transport in Women’s Economic Empowerment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10404, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10404
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alam,Muneeza Mehmood & Cropper,Maureen L. & Herrera Dappe,Matias & Suri,Palak, 2021. "Closing the Gap: Gender, Transport, and Employment in Mumbai," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9569, The World Bank.
    2. Stuart S. Rosenthal, 2014. "Are Private Markets and Filtering a Viable Source of Low-Income Housing? Estimates from a "Repeat Income" Model," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(2), pages 687-706, February.
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