Gender and Economic Outcomes of African American and African Women
Paper Session
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 3:15 PM – 5:15 PM
Hyatt Regency Chicago, Wright
- Chair: Cruz Bueno, State University of New York-New Paltz
Are the Consequences of Forced Displacement Gender Neutral?
Abstract
The number of forcibly displaced individuals worldwide is at its highest level since World War II (UNHCR, 2015). Unsurprisingly, there is now a growing interest on exploring the economic consequences of hosting refugees. Recent studies have provided new insights on the impact of refugees on labor markets, prices and consumption, among others. Although these papers have provided key insights on the consequences of hosting refugees, there has been less effort on exploring the key differences of these impacts across genders. This paper uses longitudinal data from Tanzania to explore how the consequences of hosting refugees differ across gender. Specifically, we look at Kagera, a region in Tanzania, which was host to a large number of refugees from Burundi and Rwanda in the 1990s and 2000s. We use the Kagera Health and Development Survey (KHDS), a longitudinal survey that contains information about households in different areas of Kagera. We have information on individuals collected in 1991 (i.e. before the forced migration shock), and in 2004 and 2010 (i.e. after the shock). Therefore, we can observe the long-term gender implications of the forced migration shock. Results suggest that local women account for most of the impact of refugees on the labor market outcomes of Tanzanians. There was substantial increase in self-employment for Tanzanian women in areas with large concentration of refugees, but no similar impact for men. Also, women were more likely than men to change the types of crops that they were cultivating after the refuge shock, which coincides well with the anecdotic evidence suggesting that many women lost “control” of their crops. Finally, there was a significant improvement in health outcomes of those women in areas with greater refugee presence. This is likely due to better access to health facilities provided by international organizations.The changing path to adulthood for girls in six African countries, 1990s to 2010s
Abstract
In this paper we study on a comparative basis the school to work transition of young women and young men in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and we examine how this has evolved over recent years, based in data collected by Demographic and Health Surveys. We examine educational attainments and the nature of early jobs young people are able to obtain, but we also examine this in relation to marriage and fertility outcomes, factors which are likely to be particularly relevant for young women. Over time educational levels have increased as has access to better jobs, but levels remain low in many countries. We undertake a descriptive analysis of key educational outcomes and access to different types of jobs, and then model correlates of those controlling for individual and household level characteristics, including marital status, presence of children and wealth. Attaining a high level of education is unsurprisingly critical for access to the best jobs, and is also associated young women marrying and having children later.Marriage Market and Homeownership: Are Race and Education Important?
Abstract
This paper investigates homeownership among a growing segment of the population-the never married singles. There is a growing trend of buying homes among the single population in the U.S. This trend has been referred to as “Going Solo” and is particularly evident among women. In this paper we propose that the decision to buy a home is strongly influenced by prospects and expectations in the marriage market and we explore the dynamics between the marriage market and the housing market. In particular we explore the role of the marriage market on single women’s homeownership in the U.S. We hypothesize that women may often decide to go solo in this investment decision if the marriage market does not appear promising for them. This will hold strongly for women with steady jobs and income and who qualify for home loans on their own. We address three specific questions. First, do women take into account marriage market prospects in their home buying decision? Second, does the impact of marriage market prospects on home buying decision differ based on education and ethnicity. Third, does age play a role in how marriage market signals are interpreted? We test our proposed hypotheses using the single never married sample from the Current Population Survey (CPS) over the years 2000 - 2013. We focus on never married women in our study as divorced and widowed women are different from those who are never married. Our basic methodology is focused on estimating a reduced form model of homeownership. We control for relevant factors that predict homeownership and test for possible impacts of the marriage market on single women’s homeownership decisions. Specifically our key variables of interest are our measures of marriage market prospects: lagged female and male marriage rates in a woman’s age cohort in her state of residence.Discussant(s)
Stephanie Seguino
, University of Vermont
Belinda Archibong
, Barnard College
Phu Nguyen-Van
, BETA, CNRS & University of Strasbourg
Cecilia Conrad
, MacArthur Foundation
JEL Classifications
- I2 - Education and Research Institutions
- J1 - Demographic Economics