In collaboration with Zayed University (ZU)
October 2014 - September 2017
This project aims to investigate female labor force participation and entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates, taking into account themes of national culture, values, identity and heritage, which are not usually captured by conventional labor force surveys nor addressed systematically in the limited qualitative research available. The project also aims to develop a multidisciplinary approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods to take into account emerging issues, and to create a multidisciplinary framework that can serve as a benchmark to other countries in the Gulf region and the wider Middle East.
Developing such a framework is vital given the economic and social gains associated with increased female labor force participation. Although the question of why there is such a great variation among countries and/or regions has been of particular interest to scholars, most studies have been reluctant to include countries in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) in their analysis due to data constraints.
Additionally, some studies have rendered the economies of the Arab Gulf "anomalies", attributing the income status of these countries to oil revenues and/or positive (income) spillover effects. This is unfortunate because the MENA region is associated with the lowest female labor force participation rate as well as the largest gender gap in labor force participation. While the Gulf may be a special case due to the high number of female nationals employed in public sector jobs with generous benefits and high job security, this kind of job creation is recognized as unsustainable and has led to new initiatives.
Recent government initiatives in the United Arab Emirates, such as those by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, aim to encourage entrepreneurship among Emiratis. Goals for a diversified economy are more likely to be achieved if we gain insight into how Emirati women make decisions regarding labor force participation and how factors related to culture, values, identity, and heritage come into play. The importance of culture-related questions is supported by the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report on Entrepreneurship in the UAE, which cites the need to launch a media/marketing campaign consistent with the country’s culture, heritage, and values. Moreover, networking and mentoring have been indicated as contributing to the success of female entrepreneurs and initiatives supporting them in many countries.
Clearly, with determinants of female labor supply connected to themes of culture, values, identity and heritage, a multidisciplinary approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods is crucial to gaining a more in-depth understanding of the decision-making process regarding female entrepreneurship and labor force participation in a way that cannot be captured by one discipline.
Research Team
Dr Berkay Ozcan is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Policy at LSE. His research examines the interplay between family processes (divorce, marriage and fertility) and economic outcomes (wealth/savings, labor supply and entrepreneurship). In his research, processes that shape family contexts over the life-course constitute a focal point for explaining both the economic behavior of households and overall inequality.
Dr Gina Poncini is Associate Professor of Business Communication in the College of Business at ZU. She received her PhD from the University of Birmingham (UK) in 2002. Prior to joining ZU, she was Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at the University of Milan, Italy, where she participated in international and national research projects.
Dr Wifag Adnan is a Labor Economist and Assistant Professor of Economics in the College of Business at ZU. She received her PhD in 2012 from Princeton University, where she was the recipient of the President’s Award. She wrote her dissertation on the Palestinian Labor Market during the period of 2000-2010. Her chapter investigating industry wage differentials in the Palestinian territories was recently accepted for publication in the Review of Middle East Economics and Finance.
Cevat Giray is a PhD candidate in Economics at LSE and Research Assistant on the project. Much of his scholarly work lies at the intersection between labor markets and population issues. For the past year, he has been investigating the analysis of wage discrimination against minorities and the effects of unemployment on birth rates in England.