Childhood Vows, Career Costs: The Impacts of Early Marriage and Childbirth on Women’s Employment in Egypt - Evidence from ELMPS 2023

Yusra Alkasasbeh ()
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Yusra Alkasasbeh: Northeastern University

No 1785, Working Papers from Economic Research Forum

Abstract: Egypt’s female labor force participation remains among the world’s lowest, at 16 percent in 2023. Results indicate that 13.8 percent of women aged 16-64 who got married before the age of 18 work 1.2 percentage points less than their peers who did not marry early. Additionally, 16.3 percent of these women had a first birth before 20, working 1.7 percentage points less than those who delayed childbirth. However, after controlling for age, schooling, maternal background, and region, survey-weighted logit average marginal effects for early marriage and early childbirth are statistically indistinguishable from zero (p > 0.10), suggesting that lower employment reflects differences in human capital rather than transition timing. Interaction terms show that the employment premium associated with secondary or higher schooling is erased by early marriage (AME = –0.051, p

Pages: 23
Date: 2025-07-20, Revised 2025-07-20
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