Female labour force participation in sub-Saharan Africa: A cohort analysis

Abstract

Female labour force participation rates have stagnated in sub-Saharan Africa since the turn of the millennium. This paper aims to explain this aggregate pattern by decomposing it into the labour supply behaviour of different birth cohorts and age groups. Using representative and repeated census data from a heterogeneous sample of sub-Saharan African countries, we show that declining female labour supply at early working age is explained by increasing school attendance among young female cohorts. Taking this heterogeneity into account, we find a positive association between female labour force participation and female educational attainment across the working age. Female education is further positively related to female employment in the non-primary sector. Early motherhood, in turn, is associated with lower female schooling and a widening gender gap in labour supply. The higher investments in education by younger female cohorts, together with the demographics of sub-Saharan African countries, have implications for a potentially arising ‘demographic dividend’.

The effect of fertility on female labour force participation in Tanzania

“…Empirical findings regarding female labour force participation are far from conclusive [20][21][22][23][24]. While other studies suggest that participation in the provision of labour by females and fertility are substitutes [25,26], others suggest that they are complements [21,27].…”

“…From Eqs (18), (19) and (20) the study employed contraceptive use, household size and wealth index of households as proxies for price (p). The proxies ensure all households are measured in terms of revenue, access to social facilities and health outcome [21].…”

What are the drivers of female labour market participation in North Africa?

“…These findings show that there are diverse factors that can lead to low FLP, and this study sought for the relationship between FLP and other factors, such as education, wages and salaries among other factors with a focus on the North African region at large. Backhaus and Loichinger (2021) researched FLP in sub-Saharan Africa. The study's findings indicate a link between women's engagement in the labour force and their educational achievement across the working age range (Backhaus & Loichinger 2021).…”

“…Backhaus and Loichinger (2021) researched FLP in sub-Saharan Africa. The study's findings indicate a link between women's engagement in the labour force and their educational achievement across the working age range (Backhaus & Loichinger 2021). It was also discovered that female employment in the non-primary sector was favourably correlated with female education and early parenting, which in turn, was linked to lower levels of education for women and a rising gender gap in the labour market (Backhaus & Loichinger 2021).…”