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Japan's potential growth rate is steadily falling with the aging of its population. This paper explores the extent to which raising female labor participation can help slow this trend. Using a cross-country database we find that smaller families, higher female education, and lower marriage rates are associated with much of the rise in women's aggregate participation rates within countries over time, but that policies are likely increasingly important for explaining differences across countries. Raising female participation could provide an important boost to growth, but women face two hurdles in participating in the workforce in Japan. First, few working women start out in career-track positions, and second, many women drop out of the workforce following childbirth. To increase women’s attachment to work Japan should consider policies to reduce the gender gap in career positions and to provide better support for working mothers.

Women --- Employment --- Human females --- Wimmin --- Woman --- Womon --- Womyn --- Females --- Human beings --- Femininity --- E-books --- Labor --- Macroeconomics --- Women''s Studies' --- Unemployment --- Wages --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Labor Economics Policies --- Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure --- Time Allocation and Labor Supply --- Labor Discrimination --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Labor Economics: General --- Education: General --- Demand and Supply of Labor: General --- Gender studies --- women & girls --- Labour --- income economics --- Education --- Labor markets --- Gender --- Labor force --- Labor economics --- Labor market --- Economic theory --- Japan --- Income economics --- Women & girls --- Women's Studies

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Both Japan and Korea are trying to boost female labor force participation (FLFP) as they face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. Though FLFP has generally been on a rising trend, the female labor force in both countries is skewed towards non-regular employment despite women’s high education levels. This paper empirically examines what helps Japan and Korea to increase FLFP by type (i.e., regular vs. non-regular employment), using the SVAR model. In so doing, we compare these two Asian countries with two Nordic countries Norway and Finland. The main findings are: (i) child cash allowances tend to reduce the proportion of regular female employment in Japan and Korea, (ii) the persistent gender wage gap encourages more non-regular employment, (iii) a greater proportion of regular female employment is associated with higher fertility, and (iv) there is a need for more public spending on childcare for age 6-11 in Japan and Korea to help women continue to work.

Labor supply -- Japan. --- Unemployed -- Japan. --- Women --Employment -- Japan. --- Labor --- Macroeconomics --- Women''s Studies' --- Gender Studies --- Labor Economics Policies --- Fertility --- Family Planning --- Child Care --- Children --- Youth --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure --- Labor Discrimination --- Employment --- Unemployment --- Wages --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Labor Economics: General --- Labour --- income economics --- Gender studies --- women & girls --- Social discrimination & equal treatment --- Women --- Gender inequality --- Labor force --- Gender --- Economic theory --- Sex discrimination --- Labor economics --- Labor market --- Japan --- Income economics --- Women & girls --- Women's Studies

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It is well established that a wide range of legal impediments in countries’ domestic laws have prevented women from achieving full economic empowerment, which in turn has negative macroeconomic implications. In many countries, laws often reflect and perpetuate gender norms that limit women’s economic participation, and removal of these impediments through legal reform has been shown to be an effective method to catalyze greater participation of women in the economy—along with the related macroeconomic benefits. Once legal barriers are removed and provisions for more equal treatment under the law are embedded, the law can also be employed as a powerful tool to incentivize women to pursue equal opportunities, change mindsets regarding the role of women, and hold institutions and individuals accountable for achieving results. Accordingly, it is imperative for countries to focus on eliminating existing legal impediments and designing appropriate incentives to increase women’s participation in the economy. This paper goes beyond previous Fund work by categorizing the key sources of laws that impede women’s economic empowerment, as well as ways in which the law can be used as a tool to create behavioral changes and shifts in perceptions of women in the economy. Case studies of six countries (Iceland, Peru, Rwanda, The Philippines, Tunisia, and the United States) that rank high in gender equality in their respective regions demonstrate how legal reforms have been implemented in differing contexts to help achieve women’s economic empowerment. Given the relevance to the Fund’s mandate, the paper also notes the case for a stepped-up role for the IMF in advising on legal reforms that remove barriers to, and incentivize, women’s economic empowerment. Although this paper highlights dominant belief systems and cultural norms that have contributed to limiting the economic empowerment of women, it does not intend to render any judgment on these systems or norms.

Macroeconomics --- Economics: General --- Women''s Studies' --- Gender Studies --- Labor --- Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement --- Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General --- Labor Discrimination --- Other Substantive Areas of Law: General --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Labor Standards: Labor Force Composition --- Economic & financial crises & disasters --- Economics of specific sectors --- Gender studies --- women & girls --- Social discrimination & equal treatment --- Gender studies, gender groups --- Labour --- income economics --- Women --- Gender --- Gender inequality --- Gender diversity --- Labor force participation --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Sex discrimination --- Sex role --- Labor market --- United States

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The unequal treatment of women in the law is one of the most visible forms of gender inequality. Prevalent legal constraints on the basis of gender prevent women, and thereby economies, from reaching their true potential. In this regard, this paper (i) documents the evolution of gender discriminatory laws around the globe, and (ii) sheds light on the role of legal gender equality in income convergence across countries. It shows that despite the remarkable progress toward gender equality in the law over the last five decades, the legal environment across the world is still far from providing a level playing field for women. Moreover, cross-country gaps in gender discriminatory laws have persisted and even widened over the years, meaning that some countries have lagged behind the progress in repealing the laws that act as a barrier to women’s economic inclusion. Based on a global sample since the 1970s, this paper finds that greater gender equality in the law facilitates cross-country income convergence over time. The results call for action and provide a reason to be optimistic going forward. They imply that legal reforms supportive of gender equality, which could indeed be actionable in the shorter term, help poorer countries catch up with the living standards in the advanced economies. These offer a window of opportunity in the post-Covid-19 period, given the adverse effects of the pandemic on economic growth and gender gaps.

658.1 Gelijke kansen --- Macroeconomics --- Economics: General --- Gender Studies --- Women''s Studies' --- Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General --- Labor Discrimination --- Labor Law --- Economic Development: General --- Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General --- Measurement of Economic Growth --- Aggregate Productivity --- Cross-Country Output Convergence --- Aggregate Factor Income Distribution --- Economic & financial crises & disasters --- Economics of specific sectors --- Social discrimination & equal treatment --- Gender studies --- women & girls --- Gender studies, gender groups --- Gender inequality --- Gender --- Women --- Income --- National accounts --- Income inequality --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Sex discrimination --- Sex role --- Income distribution --- Women & girls --- Women's Studies

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The labor structure in sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by a high share of informal employment in the rural agricultural sector. The impact of COVID-19 on female employment may not appear to be large as the share of such employment is particularly high among women. Nevertheless, widespread income reduction was observed both in rural and urban households. This could worsen the opportunities for women as husbands’ control over the household resource is the norm. The paper also finds that rural children struggled to continue learning during school closures. Gender-sensitive policies are needed to narrow the gap during and post-pandemic.

Nigeria --- Women''s Studies' --- Labor --- Diseases: Contagious --- Macroeconomics --- Particular Labor Markets: General --- Education: General --- Labor Discrimination: General --- Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Household Analysis: General --- Economics of Gender --- Non-labor Discrimination --- Employment --- Unemployment --- Wages --- Intergenerational Income Distribution --- Aggregate Human Capital --- Aggregate Labor Productivity --- Health Behavior --- Aggregate Factor Income Distribution --- Gender studies --- women & girls --- Labour --- income economics --- Education --- Infectious & contagious diseases --- Women --- Gender --- COVID-19 --- Health --- Income --- National accounts --- Currency crises --- Informal sector --- Economics --- Economic theory --- Communicable diseases --- Covid-19 --- Income economics --- Women & girls --- Women's Studies