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The FemaleLaborForce Participationin
the SouthCaucasus
Tatevik Zohrabyan, PhD
This research has been implemented in the scope of CRRC-Armenia
Fellowship Program, financed by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Yerevan, 2013

Paper1: DeterminingFactorsInfluencing
the FemaleLaborForce Participationin
the SouthCaucasus

Outline
• Introduction
• Objective
• Significance of the Results
• Literature Review
• Empirical Specification
• Data
• Estimation Results
• Summary
• Recommendations

Introduction
• Traditionally, the societies in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia are largely perceived as male-dominated.
• The issue of the provision of equal rights to both the male
and the female populations.
• Restricting female labor participation implies inefficient
use of available labor resources.

Introduction
• In 2010, the female labor force participation (FLFP) rate
was:
• 49% in Armenia,
• 61% in Azerbaijan, and
• 56% in Georgia.
• Virtually no change compared to the same numbers in
2009.

Objective
• The major objective of this study is to provide an
empirical evidence of the socio-economic determinants
influencing the FLFP in the South Caucasus countries.
• A binary logit model for Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia.
• Data collected by the regional offices of the Caucasus
research resource Center (CRRC) within the framework
of the Caucasus Barometer program for 2010.

Significance of the Results
• The results of this study can be used by:
• the government,
• policy-makers,
• various non-governmental organizations,
• international organizations,
• that attempt:
• to promote equal opportunities and rights,
• to reduce poverty, and
• to efficiently utilize available labor resources,
• by
• targeting specific demographic groups when developing and
designing different programs to increase the FLFP.

Literature Review
• Many studies attempting to explain the FLFP in
developed countries:
• (Mincer, 1962; Bowen and Finegan, 1969; Leuthold, 1978;
Cogan, 1980; Greenhalgh, 1980; Layard, Barton, and
Zabalza, 1980; Schultz, 1980; Smith, 1980; Killingsworth, 1983;
Mroz, 1987; Fair and Macunovich, 1997).
• As well, many studies in a number of developing
countries;
• Mon, 2000: Burma;
• Ntuli, 2007: South Africa;
• Faridi, Malik and Basit, 2009: Pakistan, etc.

Literature Review
• A descriptive approach when discussing the FLFP in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia:
• (European Commission, 2011; World Bank, 2012b; World Bank
and International Finance Corporation, 2012).
• The present study empirically investigates the issue of
ascertaining the factors impacting the FLFP in the South
Caucasus.

Empirical Specification
• The estimated logit model for Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia is specified as follows:
• Pr(lfp=1)=F(β0 + β1capital + β2edu_atleast_higher +
β3edu_sec_tech + β4single + β5div_sep_wid +
β6wom_equal + β7inc_401_more + β8jobatt_rath_disag +
β9jobatt_rath_ag + β10jobatt_cmpl_ag + β11age +
β12hhsize)

• The socio-economic variables used in the study:
• employment status,
• settlement type,
• education level,
• marital status,
• the presence of male and/or female household heads,
• household income,
• respondent’s attitude toward having a job,
• age, and
• household size.
• The actual interpretation of the estimation results is done
in terms of percent change in odds ratios.

Data
• The data from the Caucasus Barometer household survey
for 2010 conducted by the CRRC’s regional offices in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
• The sample consisted of female respondents aged 18 or
older.
• The sample size for Armenia was 842, for Azerbaijan
817, and for Georgia 958.

Summary
• Residing in the capital city was inversely related with the
FLFP in Armenia.
• Having at least higher education and secondary technical
education positively affected the FLFP in
• In Armenia, being divorced or separated or widowed was
positively associated with the FLFP.
• Having monthly household income of $401 or more
positively impacted the FLFP in

Summary
• An attitude of rather agreeing with the statement that men
should have more right to a job when jobs are scarce was
negatively associated with the FLFP in Armenia and
Georgia.
• An attitude of completely agreeing with the statement that
men should have more right to a job in case of job
scarcity was negatively associated with the FLFP in
Azerbaijan.
• Negative relationship was found between age and the
FLFP in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Summary
• Household size and the FLFP were negatively related in
Azerbaijan.
• The effects of
• being single;
• the presence of female or both male and female decision-makers
in the household
• were statistically insignificant in

Recommendations
• The following is recommended to insure the maximum
female labor force participation:
• implement strategies aimed at encouraging the female labor
force participation in capital cities;
• increase investments in education;
• create jobs with flexible working hours to fit the schedule of
married women;

Recommendations
• implement strategies geared toward enhancing women’s
self-esteem and social status that will result in breaking the
cultural stereotype that men are more entitled to jobs when
jobs are scarce;
• invest in child care facilities and make them affordable to
women.

Paper2: ExaminingFactors Impactingthe
FemaleAttitudestoward Havinga Job in
the SouthCaucasus

Outline
• Objective
• Empirical Specification
• Data
• Estimation Results
• Summary
• Recommendations

Objective
• This study attempts to answer the following research
question: “What are the socio-economic factors
impacting female perception that men should have
more right to a job when there is job scarcity in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia?”
• An ordered logit model was estimated for
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia employing.
• Data collected by the regional offices of the CRRC within
the framework of the Caucasus Barometer program for
2010.

• The ordered logit:
• Pr(response category for the jth outcome = i) = Pr(ki-1<α1X1j
+ α2X2j +…+ αkXkj + uj ki)
• where ki-1…ki are the cut points;
• α1, α2,…αk parameters,
• i is the number of possible response categories of the
dependent variable

• The four ordinal categories of the dependent variable:
• 1=Completely Agree,
• 2=Rather Agree,
• 3=Rather Disagree, and
• 4=Completely Disagree.
• reflect an underlying measure of the respondent’s
propensity to disagree (i.e., have more negative attitudes)
that men should have more right to a job when jobs are
scarce.

Data
• The categorical dependent variable (female attitudes toward
men having more right to a job in case of job scarcity) was
estimated as a function of:
• settlement type,
• education,
• marital status,
• presence of a male or female household decision-maker,
• household income,
• employment status,
• age, and
• household size.
• The same data as for the logit model.

Summary
• Living in the capital cities was inversely associated with
having more negative attitudes toward men having more
right to a job in case of job scarcity in Azerbaijan and
Georgia.
• Having at least higher education positively affected having
more negative attitudes toward men having more right to a
job in case of job scarcity in Azerbaijan and Georgia.
•
• Being single positively impacted having more negative
attitudes toward men having more right to a job in case of
job scarcity in Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Summary
• Being divorced or separated or widowed positively affected
having more negative attitudes toward men having more
right to a job in case of job scarcity in Armenia and
Azerbaijan.
• The presence of a woman or a woman and a man jointly as
main decision-makers in the household was positively
related to having more negative attitudes toward men
having more right to a job in case of job scarcity in
• Positive relationship was found between being employed
and having more negative attitudes toward men having
more right to a job in case of job scarcity in Azerbaijan.

Summary
• Every year increase in age decreased the odds of having
more negative attitudes toward men having more right to
a job in case of job scarcity in Georgia.
• Having secondary technical education, having monthly
household income of $401 and more, and household size
were found to be statistically insignificant in

Recommendations
• The following is recommended to assist in overcoming a
rather traditional perception among women in the South
Caucasus that men should have more right to a job in case
of job scarcity:
• implement strategies aimed at encouraging the women to
enter the labor force in the capital cities;
• increase investments in education and enhance the female
educational attainment;

Recommendations
• create jobs that require flexible working hours for married
women;
• implement strategies pursuing the increased societal
acceptance of women as household decision-makers;
• eliminate or reduce the barriers to entry to more and more
professions for women.

THE END
SPECIALTHANKSTO THECRRC-ARMENIA’S
OFFICESTAFFFORMAKINGTHIS RESEARCH
PROJECTPOSSIBLE!

�ݺ�ߣ

The Female Labor Force Participation in the South Caucasus

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