The Gender Labor Productivity Gap across Informal Firms
This study uncovers a gender labor productivity gap among informal firms in 14 developing economies. The results show that labor productivity is approximately 15.2 percent (or 0.165 log point) lower among women-owned than men-owned informal firms....
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099726104202220986/IDU0701ff3fb0acb104fbe0ae3d0a6a066260d3f http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37332 |
| Summary: | This study uncovers a gender labor
productivity gap among informal firms in 14 developing
economies. The results show that labor productivity is
approximately 15.2 percent (or 0.165 log point) lower among
women-owned than men-owned informal firms. Decomposition
techniques reveal several factors that contribute to lower
labor productivity of women-owned informal firms relative to
men-owned informal firms. These include lower education,
lower experience, lower capitalization, and less protection
from crime among women owners than men owners of informal
firms. However, the smaller size of the women-owned firms
and their greater return from producing or selling under
contract and from security payments narrows the productivity
gap. The results provide several specific and general policy
recommendations for improving the labor productivity of
women-owned informal firms and closing the gap with
male-owned informal firms. For one, a substantial amount of
the productivity gap can be closed by providing more
resources to women such as education, managerial experience,
and physical capital. The study also provides some
preliminary results on another important policy objective
—the costs and benefits of formalization as perceived by
women-owned versus men-owned informal firms. |
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