Explaining the MENA Paradox: Rising Educational Attainment, Yet Stagnant Female Labor Force Participation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite rapidly rising female educational attainment and the closing, if not reversal, of the gender gap in education, female labor force participation rates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remain low and stagnant. This is a phenomenon that has come to be known as the "MENA paradox". Even if increases in participation are observed, they are typically in the form of rising unemployment rather than employment.

Methods

We use multinomial logit models estimated, by country, on annual labor force survey data for four MENA countries - Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia - to simulate trends in female participation in different labor market states (public sector, private wage work, non-wage work, unemployment and non-participation) for married and unmarr

SUBMITTER: Assaad R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8345317 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature