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Title: Women's labour force participation and socioeconomic development: influences of local context and individual characteristics in Brazil.
Author: Evans MD, Saraiva HU.
Journal: Br J Sociol; 1993 Mar; 44(1):25-51. PubMed ID: 8481766.
Abstract:
We address several key hypotheses about the effects of socioeconomic development on women's labour force participation during the transition from agriculture to industrialism. To this end, we explore differences in women's labour force participation in Brazil by education, marital status, age, and urban or rural residence. We also show how socioeconomic development affects the overall level of women's participation and the differentials by education, etc. Our data are drawn from a large 1973 PNAD (Pequisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicilos) survey conducted by the Brazilian census bureau. Socioeconomic development in different parts of Brazil ranges from pre-industrial agriculture to heavy industry. Using logistic regression, we show that the general level of women's labour force participation does not change with the level of development. Highly educated women are much more likely than the less educated to be in the labour force (net of other influences); this difference is substantially greater than in post-industrial societies. Somewhat surprisingly, the influence of education is the same across the range of development levels in Brazil. Single women are more likely to be in the labour force than married women, and the difference grows during development. Age has a curvilinear relationship to labour force participation, and the old are much less likely to participate in more developed places. Rural women are slightly more likely to be in the labour force at all levels of development. Several hypotheses are used to explain the relationship between women's labor force participation (LFP) and socioeconomic development: 1) that women's LFP rises during industrialization because of the demand for workers in traditional female occupations; 2) that women's LFP declines during the transition to industrialization and rises thereafter; and 3) that women's LFP is unaffected by industrialization. This study examines data from the 1973 Brazil PNAD (Pequisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicilos). In 1973, differences in socioeconomic development existed among Brazilian regions, but the cultural environment was reasonably homogenous. The data are unique in provision of LFP for all women who were engaged in or seeking market-oriented work even in the home or as unpaid family workers. Logistic regressions model the effects of education, marital status, and residence on the probability of women being in the labor force. 60% of the sample was used in the analysis due to computer capacity limitations. Development levels were based on Haller's socioeconomic development scores and were ranked in quartiles. Findings reveal that 10% of women were engaged in the labor force at all levels of socioeconomic development. The evidence from prior studies shows that the chances of being in the labor force have changed only a little over time. The expanding opportunities hypothesis is rejected. The results conform to cross-national comparative studies showing that level of development has little impact on women's LFP. Educational level is directly related to the greater likelihood of participation. LFP rises with the level of education. 30% of women aged 20 years with no schooling are in the labor force, while 40% of women who completed the first cycle of secondary school are in the labor force. 60-70% in the labor force are second cycle graduates. The incentive hypothesis is preferred. Low wages among uneducated women are not a sufficient incentive. Marital, age, and residence effects are discussed separately. The level of development shapes the effects of some factors.

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