Structural Transformation, Culture, and Women's Labor Force Participation in Turkey

239 Pages·2017·1.23 MB·English

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Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses
November 2015
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yasemin dildar
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION, CULTURE, AND
WOMEN’S LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN
TURKEY
A Dissertation Presented
by
YASEMIN DILDAR
Submitted to the Graduate School of the
University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
September 2015
Economics
(cid:13)c Copyright by Yasemin Dildar 2015
All Rights Reserved
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION, CULTURE, AND
WOMEN’S LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN
TURKEY
A Dissertation Presented
by
YASEMIN DILDAR
Approved as to style and content by:
James K. Boyce, Chair
Deepankar Basu, Member
James Heintz, Member
Gerald Friedman, Department Chair
Economics
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Firstandforemost, Iwouldliketothankmycommitteemembers. Ihavebenefited
greatly from conversations with my chair, Jim Boyce throughout different stages
of my dissertation. The joy and intellectual stimulation I have had in his classes
was followed by his continuous guidance and encouragement during the dissertation
writing process. James Heintz has given me invaluable comments and feedback from
the early stages of my project. I am grateful to him not only for supporting me
throughout my graduate education but also for introducing me to the one of the most
interesting academic circles in economics, feminist economists. Deeepanker Basu read
my work carefully and always provided me with critical feedback.
I would also like to thank some special Economics faculty at UMass. Mohan Rao’s
development economics class in my first year in the program became the source of
my passion for development economics. Nancy Folbre’s unique vision contributed a
lot to my understanding of the political economy. David Kotz has been an excellent
teacher–scholar and mentor. I benefited immensely from the dissertation workshop
conducted by Peter Skott.
I have been very fortunate to have a supportive and collaborative environment
amonggraduatestudentsatUMass. IwouldliketothankparticularlytoCruzBueno,
Hasan Co¨mert, Serkan Demirkılı¸c, Bilge Erten, Leopoldo G´omez-Ram´ırez, Carlos
Marentes, Cem Oyvat, Michelle Rosenfield, Zoe Sherman, Hasan Tekgu¨¸c, and Rau´l
Zelada-Aprili for their friendship and support.
I am very grateful to my family who suffered during my graduate education be-
cause of the physical distance yet gave me endless love and support. This dissertation
iv
is dedicated to my mother who continuously encouraged me since my early childhood,
cherished my baby-steps in every stage of my life, understood me best at the most dif-
ficult times, and always reminded me, with her own life, why writing this dissertation
was so important.
Finally, Daniel MacDonald is the one whose existence put everything in perspec-
tive during the dissertation writing process. He has been the constant source of
happiness and joy in the last six years of my life. He is the one who literally read ev-
erything I wrote and supported me during all phases of not only dissertation writing
but also graduate school. With the happiness of knowing I will spend the rest of my
life with him, I express my deepest thanks to him.
v
ABSTRACT
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION, CULTURE, AND
WOMEN’S LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN
TURKEY
SEPTEMBER 2015
YASEMIN DILDAR
B.A., MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
M.A., MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
Directed by: Professor James K. Boyce
Turkey has experienced important structural and social changes that would be
expected to facilitate women’s participation in market work. Social attitudes toward
working women have changed in recent years; women are becoming more educated;
they are getting married at a later age; and fertility rates are declining. Despite these
factors, women’s labor force participation rates are very low in comparison to the
countries at a similar development stage.
This dissertation analyzes the underlying causes of low female labor force par-
ticipation in Turkey. In addition to a background chapter (Chapter 2) analyzing
structural transformation and employment generation patterns, the dissertation has
three main chapters. In Chapter 3, I investigate the role of patriarchal norms and
religiosity in constraining women’s labor force participation using 2008 Demographic
and Health Survey data. Employing an instrumental variable estimation, I find that
vi
internalization of patriarchal norms has a negative impact on female labor force par-
ticipation.
In Chapter 4 I use qualitative data from in-depth interviews based on field re-
search in 2013 to investigate women’s preferences as well as their actual behavior.
I analyze women’s labor force participation decisions, past schooling decisions and
fertility decisions in light of their individual preferences and aspirations on one hand,
structural constraints and household dynamics on the other, and I question the com-
mon assumption that paid employment leads to empowerment of women. I find that
women are not given equal opportunity to make their life choices from an early age.
Many women express a preference for work outside the home but face constraints
including the burden of care work and husband’s disapproval. The interviews with
working wives, on the other hand, reveal that the gender division of labor in the
household is not changed substantially by the employment status of women.
In Chapter 5 I examine the impact of an employment subsidy enacted in Turkey
in 2008 on women’s employment, accounting for variations across culturally diverse
provinces. I estimate a difference–in–differences model using a monthly panel of
province–level employment data from the Social Security Administration of Turkey.
I find that the employment package increased the female share of employment in the
provinces where positive discrimination was effective. Moreover, I find that there is
notastatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenconservativeandprogressiveprovinces
in terms of the effectiveness of the policy: a demand-side policy can increase women’s
employment despite cultural constraints that are normally thought to prohibit female
labor supply.
Thefindingsofthedissertationsupportthepremisethatunderstandingthelowfe-
male labor force participation in Turkey requires taking into account complex social,
economic, and cultural factors. Using complementary quantitative and qualitative
methodologies, the dissertation shows that both supply–side and demand–side con-
vii
straints are in play, implying need for policy–makers to address both sides of the labor
market to raise women–s employment.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................. iv
ABSTRACT..........................................................vi
LIST OF TABLES ................................................... xii
LIST OF FIGURES..................................................xvi
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................. 1
1.1 Motivation and Objectives .........................................1
1.2 Chapter Summaries ...............................................3
2. STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION AND WOMEN’S
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN THE TURKISH
ECONOMY .................................................... 5
2.1 Structural Transformation and Employment Generation ...............5
2.1.1 A Short Economic History of Turkey Before the Structural
Adjustment Programs ...................................5
2.1.2 Export-Oriented Industrialization and the Transformation of
the Labor Market .......................................7
2.1.3 Post-2001 Period: Jobless Growth ...........................11
2.2 Women’s Labor Force Participation ................................16
2.2.1 Urbanization and Female Labor Force Participation............16
2.2.2 Labor Force Participation by Education Level.................18
2.2.3 Labor Force Participation by Age ...........................21
2.2.4 Labor Force Participation by Marital Status and Unpaid
Domestic Labor ........................................24
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