Gender-Segmented Labor Markets and Trade Shocks

Carlos Góes, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo () and Raymond Robertson
Additional contact information
Gladys Lopez-Acevedo: World Bank
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Gladys Lopez-Acevedo

No 15892, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper focuses on how gender segmentation in labor markets shapes the local effects of international trade. We first develop a theoretical framework that embeds trade and gender-segmented labor markets to show that foreign demand shocks may either increase or decrease the female-to-male employment ratio. The key theoretical result shows formally that the effects of trade on gender-segmented labor markets depend crucially on (a) the sectors that face the foreign demand shock; and (b) the domestic relevance of the foreign countries in which the demand shocks originate from. If the foreign demand shock from a relevant market happens in a female-intensive (male-intensive) sector, the model predicts that the female-to-male employment ratio should increase (decrease). We then use plausibly exogenous variation in the exposure of Tunisian local labor markets to foreign demand shocks and show that the empirical results are consistent with the theoretical prediction. In Tunisia, a country with a high degree of gender segmentation in labor markets, foreign-demand shocks have been relatively larger in male-intensive sectors. This induced a decrease in the female-to-male employment ratio, with households likely substituting female for male labor supply.

Keywords: international trade; labor markets; gender; inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F16 J16 O19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2023-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara, nep-int and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Working Paper: Gender-Segmented Labor Markets and Trade Shocks (2023)
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