Informality and Gender Gaps Going Hand in Hand

This paper uses microdata from Senegal to assess the probability of a worker being in the informal sector

From:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Published
23 May 2019
Country:
Senegal
Document Type:
Working Paper
Theme:
Economic Growth
Authors:
Malta, V, Kolovich, L, Leyva, A.M., Tavares, M.M.

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa women work relatively more in the informal sector than men. Many factors could explain this difference, including women’s lower education levels, legal barriers, social norms and demographic characteristics. Cross-country comparisons indicate strong associations between gender gaps and higher female informality.

This paper uses microdata from Senegal to assess the probability of a worker being informal, and our main findings are:

  1. in urban areas, being a woman increases this probability by 8.5 percent

  2. education is usually more relevant for women

  3. having kids reduces men’s probability of being informal but increases women’s.

This work is part of the ‘Macroeconomics in Low-income countries’ programme

Citation

Vivian Malta, Lisa Kolovich, Angelica Martínez Leyva, and Marina Mendes Tavares (2019) Informality and Gender Gaps Going Hand in Hand. IMF Working Paper No. 19/112

Informality and Gender Gaps Going Hand in Hand

Published 23 May 2019
Contents