Gender Gaps in the Labor Market and Economic Growth

40 Pages Posted: 4 Dec 2018 Last revised: 5 Dec 2018

See all articles by Pierre-Richard Agenor

Pierre-Richard Agenor

The University of Manchester - School of Social Sciences

Kamer Karakurum-Ozdemir

World Bank

Emmanuel Pinto Moreira

World Bank

Date Written: December 3, 2018

Abstract

This paper studies the effects of policies aimed at mitigating discrimination against women in the marketplace on the gender wage gap, decisions to invest in skills, the composition of employment and unemployment, and long-run growth. The analysis uses a gender-based overlapping generations model with labor market rigidities. Gender bias in the workplace varies inversely with the presence of skilled women (as agents of change) in the labor market and has a direct impact on their bargaining power in the family. The model is calibrated for Morocco. Experiments show that although the benefits of policies aimed at mitigating gender bias in the workplace can promote growth and be significantly magnified through a stronger presence of skilled women in the labor market, a trade-off may emerge with respect to female unemployment when anti-discrimination policies are combined with policies aimed at subsidizing women's training. To internalize this trade-off, anti-discrimination policies in the marketplace may need to be complemented by measures aimed at reducing labor costs and raising productivity.

Keywords: Gender and Development, Employment and Unemployment, Rural Labor Markets, Labor Markets, Human Rights

Suggested Citation

Agenor, Pierre-Richard and Karakurum-Ozdemir, Kamer and Moreira, Emmanuel Pinto, Gender Gaps in the Labor Market and Economic Growth (December 3, 2018). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 8661, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3295388

Pierre-Richard Agenor (Contact Author)

The University of Manchester - School of Social Sciences ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester, M13 9PL
United Kingdom

Kamer Karakurum-Ozdemir

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Emmanuel Pinto Moreira

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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