Economic development and female labor participation in the Middle East and North Africa: a test of the U-shape hypothesis

IZA Journal of Labor & Development

Table 3 Female participation rates panel regressions in the Middle East and North Africa by middle and upper income countries (AB-GMM)

	L.FPR	lngdp	lngdp2	_cons	Obs.	Signs
Middle income countries – non-oil producers
15plus	0.937***	−2.484	0.165	10.552	124
20-24	0.882***	−1.260	0.025	11.922	124
25-29	0.898***	13.903	−0.759	−59.841	124
30-34	0.882***	−10.695	0.710	43.123	124
40-44	0.837***	−16.510	1.083	65.833	124
50-54	0.839***	−8.527	0.566	34.239	124
Upper income countries – oil producers
15plus	0.953***	2.924**	−0.153**	−11.915**	106	+/-
20-24	0.878***	6.974***	−0.415***	−23.214**	106	+/-
25-29	0.937***	7.742***	−0.428***	−30.640**	106	+/-
30-34	0.949***	4.523**	−0.234**	−18.845**	106	+/-
40-44	0.933***	3.056	−0.139	−13.687	106
50-54	0.839***	4.054	−0.160	−20.872	106

Source: ILO-EAPEP database (Female LFP) and World Bank, World Development Indicators (GDP per capita in PPP values). Significance level: *** = .01; ** = .05; * = .1 - *; Standard errors omitted. Middle Income Countries = Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon; Upper Income Countries: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.