Labour supply complementarities in urban Côte d‘Ivoire
In lower income countries, women tend to have lower labour supply and are more likely to work in informal jobs compared to men.
Abstract
In lower income countries, women tend to have lower labour supply and are more likely to work in informal jobs compared to men. To address this issue, it is not enough to simply improve women’s access to formal wage employment, since this type of employment is often characterized by low take-up and high turnover rates, perhaps because wage jobs are less easily coordinated within social networks. The project examined whether social networks, and in particular, the ability to commute together can improve these employment outcomes. Two field experiments in urban Côte d’Ivoire, offered jobs to prospective workers, varying whether their network members would also receive a job, and whether this job would allow them to work and commute together. Both jobs paid roughly twice the amount focal workers were earning at baseline. This experimental design, supplemented by additional heterogeneity and network analysis as well as qualitative work, allowed authors to pinpoint the primary mechanism behind these effects and to identify any gender differences.
This is an output of the Gender, Growth and Labour Markets in Low Income Countries programme.
Citation
Grosset F and Donald A. ‘Labor Supply Complementarities in Urban Côte d‘Ivoire’. Policy Brief No. 66, Gender, Growth and Labour Markets in Low Income Countries 2024