This study introduces a theoretical framework of women’s labour force participation (LFP) decision as a manifestation of two opposing forces—the labour market’s ‘push’ in favour of, and social institutions’ ‘pull’ away from participation. The socioculturally diverse southwestern Indian state of Kerala is chosen as the ideal setting to test this framework. Using data from two rounds of the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS)—2013 and 2018—the study finds that higher levels of education reduce the likelihood that women participate in the labour force. This article also addresses the impact of a shock to migration—the Nitaqat system—on women’s LFP and finds evidence that long-standing social norms that prevent women’s LFP can change under economic crises such as the Nitaqat system that caused a large-scale return migration of Muslim emigrants from the Gulf countries. We find that prior to the migration shock, in the Muslim-dominated Malabar region, the strong social norms of the Sunni Muslims permeates across religions, which discourages women's LFP. Due to the return migration of predominantly Muslim men prompted by the Nitaqat system, we find evidence of a more favorable attitude towards women's labor force participation (LFP) in the Malabar region. By studying women’s LFP in Kerala, which has a significant proportion of Hindus, Christians and Muslims, the article finds support for LFP decisions as influenced by categorical identity affiliations.
AfridiF., DinkelmanT., & MahajanK. (2018). Why are fewer married women joining the work force in rural India? A decomposition analysis over two decades. Journal of Population Economics, 31(3), 783–818.
2.
AgarwalB. (1997). “Bargaining” and gender relations: Within and beyond the household. Feminist Economics, 3(1), 1–51.
3.
AlesinaA., GiulianoP., & NunnN. (2013). On the origins of gender roles: Women and the plough. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 128(2), 469–530.
4.
AllenC. (2017). Coromandel: A personal history of South India. Hachette UK.
5.
BaylyS. (1989). Saints, goddesses and kings: Muslims and Christians in South Indian society 1700–1900 (Vol. 43). Cambridge University Press.
6.
BehrmanJ. R., FosterA. D., RosenweigM. R., & VashishthaP. (1999). Women’s schooling, home teaching, and economic growth. Journal of Political Economy, 107(4), 682–714.
7.
BhallaS., & KaurR. (2011). Labour force participation of women in India: Some facts, some queries (Working paper). LSE Asia Research Centre. https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/textonly/india/publications/working_papers/ARCWP40-BhallaKaur.pdf
8.
BredtmannJ., HöckelL. S., & OttenS. (2020). The intergenerational transmission of gender role attitudes: Evidence from immigrant mothers-in-law. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 179, 101–115.
9.
BrownL. (1956). The Indian Christians of St. Thomas. Cambridge University Press.
10.
BurkeP. (2020). Identity. In KivistoP. (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of social theory: Volume 2, Contemporary theories and issues. Cambridge University Press.
11.
ÇağatayN., & ÖzlerŞ. (1995). Feminization of the labor force: The effects of long-term development and structural adjustment. World Development, 23(11), 1883–1894.
12.
CameronL. A., Malcolm DowlingJ., & WorswickC. (2001). Education and labor market participation of women in Asia: Evidence from five countries. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 49(3), 459–477.
13.
CarvalhoJ.-P. (2013). Veiling. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 128(1), 337–370.
14.
Census. (2011, February). 2011 Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
ChaudharyR., & VerickS. (2014). Female labour force participation in India and beyond. ILO New Delhi.
17.
ChenM., & DrèzeJ. (1992). Widows and health in rural north India. Economic & Political Weekly, 27(43–44), WS81–WS92.
18.
ContrerasD., & PlazaG. (2010). Cultural factors in women’s labor force participation in Chile. Feminist Economics, 16(2), 27–46.
19.
DasM. S., Jain-ChandraM. S., KochharM. K., & KumarN. (2015). Women workers in India: Why so few among so many?International Monetary Fund.
20.
DeiningerK., JinS., NagarajanH. K., & SinghS. K. (2022). Addressing declining female labor force participation in India: Does political empowerment make a difference?The Journal of Development Studies, 58(9), 1772–1790.
21.
DessingM. (2002). Labor supply, the family and poverty: The S-shaped labor supply curve. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 49(4), 433–458.
22.
DurandJ. D. (1975). The labor force in economic development: A comparison of international census data, 1946–1966 (Vol. 1237). Princeton University Press.
23.
EswaranM., RamaswamiB., & WadhwaW. (2013). Status, caste, and the time allocation of women in rural India. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 61(2), 311–333.
24.
FarréL., & VellaF. (2013). The intergenerational transmission of gender role attitudes and its implications for female labour force participation. Economica, 80(318), 219–247.
25.
FatimaA., & SultanaH. (2009). Tracing out the U-shape relationship between female labor force participation rate and economic development for Pakistan. International Journal of Social Economics, 36(1/2), 182–198.
26.
FolbreN. (1994). Who pays for the kids? Gender and the structures of constraint. Routledge.
27.
FullerC. J. (1975). The internal structure of the Nayar caste. Journal of Anthropological Research, 31(4), 283–312.
28.
GaddisI., & KlasenS. (2012). Economic development, structural change and women’s labor force participation a reexamination of the feminization U hypothesis (Technical Report). Courant Research Centre PEG.
29.
GayV., HicksD. L., Santacreu-VasutE., & ShohamA. (2018). Decomposing culture: An analysis of gender, language, and labor supply in the household. Review of Economics of the Household, 16, 879–909.
30.
GhoshJ. (2001). Time poverty and the poverty of economics. ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi, 43(1), 1–19
31.
GoldinC. (1994). The U-shaped female labor force function in economic development and economic history. National Bureau of Economic Research Cambridge.
32.
HeckmanJ. J. (1979). Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, 47(1), 153–161.
33.
HicksD. L., Santacreu-VasutE., & ShohamA. (2015). Does mother tongue make for women’s work? Linguistics, household labor, and gender identity. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 110, 19–44.
34.
HuttonJ. (1963). Caste in India: Its nature, function and origins. Oxford University Press.
35.
KabeerN. (1997). Women, wages and intra-household power relations in urban Bangladesh. Development and change, 28(2), 261–302.
36.
KapsosS., SilbermannA., & BourmpoulaE. (2014). Why is female labour force participation declining so sharply in India?ILO Geneva.
37.
KillingsworthM. R., & HeckmanJ. J. (1986). Female labor supply: A survey. Handbook of Labor Economics, 1, 103–204.
38.
KlasenS., LeT. T. N., PietersJ., & Santos SilvaM. (2021). What drives female labour force participation? Comparable micro-level evidence from eight developing and emerging economies. The Journal of Development Studies, 57(3), 417–442.
39.
KlasenS., & PietersJ. (2012). Push or pull? Drivers of female labor force participation during India’s economic boom. IZA DP No. 6395.
40.
KlasenS., & PietersJ. (2015). What explains the stagnation of female labor force participation in urban India?The World Bank Economic Review, 29(3), 449–478.
41.
KoenigM. A., AhmedS., HossainM. B., & MozumderA. K. A. (2003). Women’s status and domestic violence in rural Bangladesh: Individual- and community-level effects. Demography, 40(2), 269–288.
42.
LahotiR., & SwaminathanH. (2016). Economic development and women’s labor force participation in India. Feminist Economics, 22(2), 168–195.
43.
LekhaN. (2023). Gender bargaining within matriliny in Kerala. South Asia Research, 43(1), 97–114.
44.
LukeN., & MunshiK. (2011). Women as agents of change: Female income and mobility in India. Journal of Development Economics, 94(1), 1–17.
45.
MammenK., & PaxsonC. (2000). Women’s work and economic development. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14(4), 141–164.
46.
MehrotraS., & ParidaJ. K. (2017). Why is the labour force participation of women declining in India?World Development, 98, 360–380.
47.
MillerR. E. (1987). Mappila. InThe encyclopedia of Islam (Vol. 6, pp. 456)–458). E. J. Brill.
48.
MiyataS., & YamadaH. (2016). Do female gender role attitudes affect labour market participation in Egypt?The Journal of Development Studies, 52(6), 876–894.
49.
MolmL. D. (1989). Punishment power: A balancing process in power-dependence relations. American Journal of Sociology, 94(6), 1392–1418.
50.
NaiduS. C. (2016). Domestic labour and female labour force participation: Adding a piece to the puzzle. Economic & Political Weekly, 51(45–46), 101–108.
51.
PampelF. C., & TanakaK. (1986). Economic development and female labor force participation: A reconsideration. Social Forces, 64(3), 599–619.
52.
RajanS. I. (2013). Kerala migration survey 2013. Center for Development Studies.
53.
RajanS. I. (2018). Kerala migration survey 2018. Center for Development Studies.
54.
RajanS. I. (2023). Kerala migration survey 2023. Lecture II 3, 20.
55.
RajanS. I., & ZachariahK. (2020). New evidences from the Kerala migration survey, 2018. Economic & Political Weekly, 55(4), 19–41.
56.
RangarajanC. (2011). Where is the missing labour force?Economic & Political Weekly, 46(39), 68–72.
57.
RoncolatoL. (2016). The feminization U in South Africa: Economic structure and women’s labor force participation. Feminist Economics, 22(4), 54–81.
58.
SarkarS., SahooS., & KlasenS. (2019). Employment transitions of women in India: A panel analysis. World Development, 115, 291–309.
59.
SenA. K. (1970). Collective choice and social welfare. Holden-Day.
60.
SenA. K. (1977). Rational fools: A critique of the behavioral foundations of economic theory. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 317–344.
61.
SenA. K. (1985). Women, technology and sexual divisions. Trade and Development, United Nations.
62.
SorsaP., MaresJ., DidierM., GuimaraesC., RabateM., TangG., & TuskeA. (2015). Determinants of the low female labour force participation in India (OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 1207). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5js30tvj21hh-en
63.
SrinivasM. N. (1956). A note on sanskritization and westernization. The Journal of Asian Studies, 15(4), 481–496.
64.
TamH. (2011). U-shaped female labor participation with eco-nomic development: Some panel data evidence. Economics Letters, 110(2), 140–142.
65.
TanselA. (2001). Economic development and female labor force participation in Turkey: Time-series evidence and cross-province estimates. Citeseer.
66.
WhitehouseT. (1873). Lingerings of light in a dark land: Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar.
67.
WilliamsonO. E. (1998). Transaction cost economics: How it works; where it is headed. De Economist, 146(1), 23–58.
68.
WilliamsonO. E. (2000). The new institutional economics: taking stock, looking ahead. Journal of Economic Literature, 38(3), 595–613.
69.
World Bank. (2023). World Bank Gender Data Portal. https://genderdata.worldbank.org/countries/india
70.
WynbrandtJ. (2010). A brief history of Saudi Arabia. Infobase Publishing.
71.
XiaoS., & AsadullahM. N. (2020). Social norms and gender differences in labour force participation in China. Feminist Economics, 26(4), 114–148.
