Comparative political economy studies of welfare states have focused on either general processes of modernization or the evolution of different welfare state 'regimes' - such as the social democratic, liberal and conservative types identified by Esping-Andersen. Variations in women's role in the workforce tend to be seen as closely allied with 'welfare regime' types or associated with welfare state modernization. But there are relatively few empirical studies in the political economy field of how, within the overall policy configuration of the state, welfare policies influence women's labour force participation. First, using a quantitative analysis of country-level data for 17 OECD countries from 1960 to 1987, this study identifies clusters of countries consistent with the Esping-Andersen classification, which share distinct patterns of women's role in the workforce and have different paths of development over time. However, the analysis shows that important anomalies exist and key questions remain unresolved. Second, case studies are used to analyse policy configurations and developments in women's employment over time. 'Core' examples are drawn from each main welfare regime - the USA (liberal), Sweden (social democratic) and Germany (conservative). The Netherlands is examined as a key anomalous case. Third, the lessons from the empirical analyses are used to reconsider aspects of the 'social democratic' and 'modernization' models of welfare state development. Across the period as a whole female labour force participation has grown in most countries. The most rapid growth of women's involvement has taken place in core countries with either liberal or social democratic welfare configurations (the USA and Sweden). There has been less change in 'conservative' countries (such as Germany) and in the Netherlands despite its 'social democratic' classification. Yet apparent linkages between labour market trends and welfare policies do not necessarily stand up to close over-time or comparative analysis. In the USA there are only weak connections between welfare policies and women's changing role in the labour market, whereas the two factors are closely and directly linked in Sweden. Particular policies contributed to expanding women's employment in Germany, but the overall policy configuration has bolstered broader patterns of social stratification inimical to women playing a larger role. In the Netherlands, welfare policies have clearly restrictive effects on women's participation in job markets, although some growth has occurred since the 'welfare explosion' of the 1960s. These findings show that welfare states' impacts on women's employment do not fit neatly into the 'modernization' or 'social democratic' models. 'One path fits all' models perform particularly poorly, but even differentiated analyses of 'welfare state regimes' pay insufficient attention to the location of social welfare within the state's overall policy configuration. A clearer distinction between the 'welfare state' construed as form of state and as a particular sector of state activity can help comparative analysis eliminate the residual influence of 'one-path' models, and provide more compelling analyses of variations in women's employment trajectories.

This licentiate’s thesis consists of two essays on immigrant self-employment and labour supply. The first essay (co-author Mats Hammarstedt), Intergenerational transmissions in immigrant self-employment: Evidence from three generations, reviews intergenerational transmissions in immigrant self-employment over three generations. More precisely, we study whether self-employment is transferred both from grandfather to grandson and from father to son, as well as if there are any differences between immigrant groups and differences between immigrants and natives. In addition, we investigate the importance of the intergenerational transfer of general and specific human capital for choice of business line. The results show that having a self-employed father and self-employed grandfather have a strong positive effect on self-employment propensities for male third-generation immigrants. On the other hand, natives were found to transfer self-employment from father to son, but not from grandfather to grandson. The results also indicate that immigrants inherit self-employment abilities from their self-employed fathers increasing the self-employment propensity, but not necessarily in the same business line. In contrast, native self-employed fathers transfer human capital to their sons making them more prone to become self-employed in the same business line as the father is in. The second essay, Female immigrant labour supply: The effect of an in-work benefit, focuses on immigrant labour supply, and evaluates the effect of a recently introduced in-work benefit, the so called job deduction, on the labour supply of single immigrant women. In this study, we address the following questions: What is the effect of the in-work benefit on the labour supply of single immigrant women? Does the effect of the in-work benefit on working hours differ between immigrant groups? The results show that, on average, there is no major effect of the in-work benefit on the labour supply of single immigrant women. However, households with the lowest incomes increase their working hours quite strongly. Furthermore, on average, there appears to be no difference in the effect of the in-work benefit between immigrant groups. In the low-income households, though, immigrants from non-European countries and from Southern and Eastern European countries, increase their labour supply relatively more than immigrants from Nordic countries and Western Europe. Finally, the relatively large increase in working hours for single immigrant women with the lowest incomes appears, above all, to be a result of increased participation in the labour market. However, part of the effect is related to an increase in the number of working hours of already employed women.

<p>This licentiate’s thesis consists of two essays on immigrant self-employment and labour supply.</p><p>The first essay (co-author Mats Hammarstedt), Intergenerational transmissions in immigrant self-employment: Evidence from three generations, reviews intergenerational transmissions in immigrant self-employment over three generations. More precisely, we study whether self-employment is transferred both from grandfather to grandson and from father to son, as well as if there are any differences between immigrant groups and differences between immigrants and natives. In addition, we investigate the importance of the intergenerational transfer of general and specific human capital for choice of business line. The results show that having a self-employed father and self-employed grandfather have a strong positive effect on self-employment propensities for male third-generation immigrants. On the other hand, natives were found to transfer self-employment from father to son, but not from grandfather to grandson. The results also indicate that immigrants inherit self-employment abilities from their self-employed fathers increasing the self-employment propensity, but not necessarily in the same business line. In contrast, native self-employed fathers transfer human capital to their sons making them more prone to become self-employed in the same business line as the father is in.</p><p>The second essay, Female immigrant labour supply: The effect of an in-work benefit, focuses on immigrant labour supply, and evaluates the effect of a recently introduced in-work benefit, the so called job deduction, on the labour supply of single immigrant women. In this study, we address the following questions: What is the effect of the in-work benefit on the labour supply of single immigrant women? Does the effect of the in-work benefit on working hours differ between immigrant groups? The results show that, on average, there is no major effect of the in-work benefit on the labour supply of single immigrant women. However, households with the lowest incomes increase their working hours quite strongly. Furthermore, on average, there appears to be no difference in the effect of the in-work benefit between immigrant groups. In the low-income households, though, immigrants from non-European countries and from Southern and Eastern European countries, increase their labour supply relatively more than immigrants from Nordic countries and Western Europe. Finally, the relatively large increase in working hours for single immigrant women with the lowest incomes appears, above all, to be a result of increased participation in the labour market. However, part of the effect is related to an increase in the number of working hours of already employed women.</p>

There has been increasingly interest in parental leave policies as instruments for the implementation of gender equality in society. This review essay explores the link between parental leave policies and the gender division of labour - referring to both paid employment and unpaid family work. Against this backdrop the essay systematically reviews evidence from quantitative empirical research on the effects of parental leave policies on mothers' employment and fathers' involvement in family work. The article suggests that there are several aspects of parental leave that seem to be especially relevant for the gender division of labour, such as the duration of leave, the provision of payments, and an individual entitlement of non-transferable leave rights. In a concluding section the article summarizes the results, discusses doubts and questions raised by the material and identifies promising areas of future research that are crucial for a better understanding of the effects of parental leave on the gender division of labour. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers / Institut für Sozialpolitik

There has been increasingly interest in parental leave policies as instruments for the implementation of gender equality in society. This review essay explores the link between parental leave policies and the gender division of labour - referring to both paid employment and unpaid family work. Against this backdrop the essay systematically reviews evidence from quantitative empirical research on the effects of parental leave policies on mothers' employment and fathers' involvement in family work. The article suggests that there are several aspects of parental leave that seem to be especially relevant for the gender division of labour, such as the duration of leave, the provision of payments, and an individual entitlement of non-transferable leave rights. In a concluding section the article summarizes the results, discusses doubts and questions raised by the material and identifies promising areas of future research that are crucial for a better understanding of the effects of parental leave on the gender division of labour. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers / Institut für Sozialpolitik

During the first two thirds of the 20th century, electricity, running water, and a host of new consumer durables diffused into most American homes. These new household technologies revolutionized domestic life by freeing up time from basic housework. In this dissertation, I study the consequences of household technological change on families, focusing on fertility, child health, marriage, and female labour force participation. Chapter 1 provides a short history of household modernization. I then present an econometric framework for evaluating the effects of household technological change, and discuss the main estimation challenges. To address these issues, I introduce an estimation strategy based on a newly-assembled dataset that captures the rollout of the U.S. power grid during the mid-20th century. In chapter 2, I study the impact of household technological change on fertility and child health, exploiting substantial cross-county and cross-state variation in the timing of when households acquired new consumer durables. Modern household technologies led families to make a child quantity-quality tradeoff favouring quality: household modernization is associated with decreases in infant mortality and decreases in fertility. The declines in infant mortality were particularly large in states where households had relied heavily on coal for heating and cooking, where the potential to improve indoor air quality was greatest. Health improvements were also larger in states that had previously invested heavily in maternal education, suggesting that household modernization led parents to provide better infant care. Overall, household technological change can account for between 25% and 30% of the total decline in infant mortality between 1930 and 1960. In chapter 3, I examine the relationship between household modernization, investment in children, and female employment. I present a conceptual framework in which household technological change has little immediate impact on female employment, but generates increased investment in daughters' human capital, ultimately causing a rise in employment for subsequent cohorts of women. I find empirical support for these predictions. Further, the results suggest that the diffusion of modern technology into the home during the first half of the 20th century can account for a significant fraction of the rise in female employment after 1950.

The objective of the paper is to study the effect that female representation in national parliaments have on economic growth in African countries. The foundation for this research question is the assumption that an increase in female representation will lead to an increase in female education and female labour force participation and this will cause a positive effect on economic growth. To test the hypothesis panel data from 50 African countries is used during the time period 2008-2018. An OLS, entity fixed effect and time and entity fixed effect regression was conducted to test the research questions and control variables are included in the regression. The results showed no statistically significant effects of female representation on economic growth and the relationship was negative which contradicts earlier research and the initial hypothesis.

The research project intends to investigate the responses of households to economic uncertainty and natural shocks and the coping strategies developed both in terms of growing migration rates and remittance inflows and of increasing labour supply. In the first Chapter, we employ household survey data from the Indian State of Kerala to evaluate how transfers of remittances sent from overseas respond to heterogeneous sectoral employment shocks experienced by migrants in the host country during the 2008 crisis. In the second chapter, migration and remittances have been investigated as coping strategies adopted by households after a dramatic flood that hit Bangladesh in August-September 2014. The combination of high-resolution satellite data to precisely measure our treatment variable and the difference-in-difference estimations allow us to causally identify the impact of the dramatic flooding on internal and international migration. The same robust estimation technique is then applied to evaluate the effect of the 2014 flood in Bangladesh on female labour force participation rate and on the probability for unemployed women to enter the labour force. In addition, correcting for selection into employment, we estimate how the flood affects the probability for women working in the household farm to engage in independent wage-earning activities, evaluatiing whether the expected rise in female labour force participation - instrumented by the shock intensity they face - would help to increase their bargaining power within the households.

Most extant studies on the relationship between workforce diversity and employment inequalities focus on the impact of a single disadvantaged identity on a single employment outcome such as pay or promotion at the organizational level. Thus, the relation between workers’ multiple identities and different dimensions of employment inequalities within the broader social context remains unclear. The goal of this thesis is to start filling this gap. I start with developing a multilevel model of employment inequalities for workers with multiple identities by integrating the social identity theory, double jeopardy hypothesis, intergroup contact theory, and theory of minority group threat. I test this model with two empirical studies using Statistics Canada’s nationally representative Canadian Survey on Disability (2012) linked with the National Household Survey (2011). Labour force participation, employment, and employment income are the dependent variables of this thesis. I examine the intersection of immigrant and disability identity dimensions by focusing on immigrants with disabilities (IwD) as compared to immigrants with no disabilities, Canadian-born with disabilities, and Canadian-born with no disabilities. Study 1 demonstrates that while immigrant and disability identities are independently negatively associated with employment and employment income, having both identities simultaneously has a positive effect on employment and employment income. Furthermore, with the increase of the residential area diversity (RAD), which is determined by the number of immigrants and people with disabilities in a community, IwD’s likelihood of employment increases but employment income decreases. Study 2 shows that the proportion of immigrants in a residential area (RA) is negatively associated with the likelihood of being in the labour force for IwD. Furthermore, perceived work discrimination is negatively associated with labour force participation for IwD. Moreover, perceived work discrimination mediates the relationship between the proportion of immigrants in an RA and labour force participation for IwD. This thesis contributes to theory by (i) developing a multi-level theoretical framework that demonstrate the complex relationship between individuals with multiple identities, organizations, and society, (ii) extending the intergroup contact theory and the theory of minority threat using empirical evidence from individuals with multiple identities rather than focusing on a single identity, (iii) examining multiple employment outcomes at once and demonstrating how employment outcomes might differ based on intersecting identities, and (iv) demonstrating the impact of societal context by incorporating RAD into analysis and showing how the employment outcomes of individuals with multiple identities differ by where they reside. I discuss practical implications of the findings for workers, employers, policymakers, and society. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis examines employment inequalities for workers with multiple identities, focusing on immigrants with disabilities. This thesis has three major findings. First, compared to those who were born in Canada and do not have disabilities, immigrants and people with disabilities are less likely to be on the job market and find a job. They receive lower employment income as well. However, immigrants who have disabilities are more likely to find a job than immigrants with no disabilities and those with disabilities who were born in Canada. Second, as the percentage of immigrants in a community increases, employment income for immigrants with disabilities decreases. Third, as the percentage of immigrants in a community increases, immigrants with disabilities’ chance of being on the job market decreases. Perceived work discrimination plays a role in being on the job market as well. Based on these findings, I provide suggestions for employers, workers, policy makers, and society.

The aim with this thesis is to explore why the female labour force participation (FLFP) currently is increasing in one of the most conservative regions of the world: the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), while decreasing globally. (World Bank, 2022). The ongoing process of economic diversification in the region is in this thesis suggested to be an overlooked factor behind the surge in FLFP. Drawing from political science, political economy, and sociology theory on the gendered division of labour (e.g., Peterson, 2015; Prügl, 2020), this thesis suggests that, as the economies in the GCC region becomes more diversified, more female-coded labour sectors emerge. As a result, FLFP increases. The study is conducted by time series cross section statistical analysis with a timeframe between 1995 - 2015, using data from the Quality of Government Institute (Teorell, Sundström, Holmberg, Rothstein, Pachon &amp; Mert Dalli, 2022). The result show that economic diversification affects FLFP in the GCC region, but not on a global level. The contribution of this thesis is not only to shed light on economic diversification as an unexplored factor that affects FLFP, but also on the importance of female-coded sectors for enabling women in conservative contexts to be part of the paid labour force.