Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9448
Authors: Stefania Albanesi; Aysegul Sahin
Abstract: The unemployment gender gap, defined as the difference between female and male unemployment rates, was positive until 1980. This gap virtually disappeared after 1980, except during recessions when men's unemployment rate always exceeds women's. We study the evolution of these gender differences in unemployment from a long-run perspective and over the business cycle. Using a calibrated three-state search model of the labor market, we show that the rise in female labor force attachment and the decline in male attachment can mostly account for the closing of the gender unemployment gap. Evidence from nineteen OECD countries also supports the notion that convergence in attachment is associated with a decline in the gender unemployment gap. At the cyclical frequency, we find that gender differences in industry composition are important in recessions, especially the most recent, but they do not explain gender differences in employment growth during recoveries.
Keywords: gender differences in unemployment; labor force participation; labor market flows
JEL Codes: E24; J64
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| rise in female labor force attachment (J21) | closing of the gender unemployment gap (J79) |
| decline in male labor force attachment (J29) | closing of the gender unemployment gap (J79) |
| convergence in labor force attachment (J69) | decline in the gender unemployment gap (J79) |
| gender differences in industry composition (J21) | men's unemployment rates rising more than women's during recessions (J64) |
| changes in participation rates (J49) | convergence in labor market attachment (J69) |
| unemployment duration (J64) | convergence in labor market attachment (J69) |
| labor market flows between employment, unemployment, and non-participation (J69) | convergence in labor market attachment (J69) |