Publication: Exporting and Female Labor Market Outcomes in Georgia
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Published
2020-10
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Date
2020-10-15
Author(s)
Ong Lopez, Anne
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Abstract
Using firm-level data for Georgia, the paper estimates the quasi-elasticity of employment and wages with respect to the share of exports in total sales, to explore whether changes in the structure of sales (exporting versus selling to the domestic market) matter for labor market outcomes. The methodology uses exogenous fluctuations in exchange rates combined with firms' initial exposure to various markets as instrumental variables to identify a causal effect. The results differentiate employment levels and average wages by gender and consider whether export destination or the competiveness of economies matters for the magnitude of this elasticity. The data are from the National Statistics Office of Georgia Statistics Survey of Enterprises merged with customs data for 2006-17. The instrumental variables regression results show that the act of exporting improves female employment but reduces overall average wages and female wages. Increasing exports to the European Union as well as high-income countries drives this positive result for female employment, whereas exporting to upper-middle-income countries is found to have a negative relationship with female employment.
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“Ong Lopez, Anne; Hollweg, Claire H.. 2020. Exporting and Female Labor Market Outcomes in Georgia. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9432. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34624 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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