The Gendered Labor Market Impacts of Trade Liberalization: Evidence from Brazil

This paper investigates the impact of Brazil's trade liberalization on gender differences in labor market outcomes, using difference-in-difference estimation that exploits variation in preliberalization industry composition across microregions. We find that trade liberalization reduced male and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of human resources Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 457 - 490
Main Authors Gaddis, Isis, Pieters, Janneke
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Madison University of Wisconsin Press 01.04.2017
Subjects
Development Economics
Development Economics Group
Employment
Free trade
Gender differences
Impact analysis
Labor force
Labor force participation
Labor market
Leerstoelgroep Ontwikkelingseconomie
Ontwikkelingseconomie
Trade liberalization
WASS
Brazil
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Summary:This paper investigates the impact of Brazil's trade liberalization on gender differences in labor market outcomes, using difference-in-difference estimation that exploits variation in preliberalization industry composition across microregions. We find that trade liberalization reduced male and female labor force participation rates and tradable sector employment rates, particularly among the low-skilled population. As aggregate effects on men are significantly larger, liberalization reduced the percentage point gender gap in employment and participation rates. However, in proportionate terms, we find no evidence that women's employment and participation increased relative to men's, or that women benefitted from the procompetitive effects of free trade.
ISSN:0022-166X
1548-8004
DOI:10.3368/jhr.52.2.1014-6690R1