Year: 2019

Author(s): Antonio Waldo E. Yañez Aguilar, Natalie A. Echenique Michel

The growth of female participation in the labor market has stalled and shows signs of deterioration in the country. This slowdown may have implications for distributional issues , women’s empowerment, and the care and education of children. Motivated by these implications, the behavior of the gender gap in employment in urban areas of Bolivia is analyzed. Through linear probability models, determinants of female labor decisions are identified and it is evident that women are less likely to work, and if they do, they do so in informal jobs. In addition, the results show that the deterioration in female labor participation has occurred in the most vulnerable groups of women, that is, in those with fewer years of education, a greater number of children in the household and belonging to households with lower income levels.