Gender, Economic Development and Islam: A Perspective from France

Claire L. Adida (), David D. Laitin () and Marie-Anne Valfort ()
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Claire L. Adida: University of California, San Diego
David D. Laitin: Stanford University

No 6421, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Muslims do less well on the French labor market than their non Muslim counterparts. One explanation for this relative failure can be characterized by the following syllogism: (1) the empowerment of women is a sine qua non for economic progress; (2) in-group norms among Muslims do not empower women; and hence (3) Muslim communities will underperform economically relative to non-Muslim communities. This paper, relying on a unique identification strategy that isolates religion from national origin and ethnicity, and on experimental as well as survey evidence collected in France, puts this syllogism to a test. Our data show that Muslim and Christian gender norms are as postulated. However, the correlations between Muslim vs. Christian immigrants and the channels purported to link in-group gender norms to economic progress are weak and inconsistent. Speculations are offered on the intervening variables that mitigate the effect of Muslim gender norms on economic performance.

Keywords: development; Islam; gender; discrimination; France; experimental economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 D03 J15 J16 J71 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2012-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - published in: Economics and Politics, 2015, 26 (1), 79-95

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