Informality and Female Labor Income Share

Abstract

This paper presents original evidence to enhance understanding of the nexus between the informal sector and the economic well-being of women. Women encountering substantial obstacles in accessing formal employment opportunities tend to gravitate towards informal sector employment, which is characterized by lower productivity, lower wages, restricted access to credit and training, and an absence of social security coverage. Using two novel datasets of the size of the informal economy and female labor income share of 148 countries for the period 1991-2018, we show that while informality is associated with lower female labor income share in general, the results vary significantly with respect to countries with different income groups and development level. While there is not generally a significant and consistent association in high-income countries, the correlation is significantly negative in low-income countries and positive in middle-income ones.

Keywords

• Informality
• Gender
• Labor income share

Kayıt Dışılık ve Kadınların Emek Geliri Payı

Abstract

Bu çalışma kayıt dışı istihdam ile kadınların refahı arasındaki ilişkinin daha iyi anlaşılmasını sağlayacak özgün ampirik bulgular sunmaktadır. Kadınların formel sektördeki istihdam olanaklarına ulaşmalarını zorlaştıran bazı engeller olduğu için genellikle düşük verimlilik, kredi ve mesleki gelişim olanaklarına sınırlı erişim ve sosyal güvencesizlik ile özdeşleşen kayıt dışı sektörlere yönelme eğilimindedirler. 148 ülke ve 1991-2018 dönemini kapsayan kayıt dışı ekonomi ve kadınların emek geliri payı veri setlerini kullanarak, genel anlamda kayıtdışılık ile kadınların emek geliri payı arasında güçlü bir ilişki olduğunu ve bu ilişkinin farklı gelir grubundaki ülkelere ve kalkınma düzeyine göre belirgin bir şekilde farklılaştığını gösterdik. Bu iki değişken arasında genel olarak yüksek geliri grubu ülkelerde anlamlı ve tutarlı bir ilişki bulunmazken, bu korelasyonun düşük gelirli ülkelerde negatif ve orta gelirli ülkelerde pozitif olduğu görülmektedir.

Keywords

• kayıt dışı
• toplumsal cinsiyet
• emek geliri payı

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