Women at Work in the Course of Economic Development

Abstract

Women have always worked, at least as many hours as men have, yet the nature, location, and compensation of their work have shifted far more dramatically over the course of economic development than men's. This lecture tracks those transformations, drawing on data across countries at different stages of development. It starts with the U-shaped pattern of female labour force participation over the development process, examining how the interplay between home production and market work evolves alongside the economy's structural shift from agriculture through manufacturing to services. It then looks ahead to the present and future by focusing on Generation Z women in advanced economies. Despite being more educated than ever, and increasingly outpacing men in educational attainment, young women in advanced economies still face substantial barriers to entering and advancing in the labor market.

About the Speaker

Prof. Rachel NGAI received her BSc in Economics from HKUST in 1996 and PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001. She has been tenured at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) since 2007, and is currently Professor in Economics. She is concurrently Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and member of the Centre for Macroeconomics at LSE. Since 2020, she has been one of the theme leaders of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth under the CEPR’s auspice. 

Prof. Ngai’s research interests include macroeconomics - growth and development, structural transformation, labor markets and housing markets. In 2014, she was awarded the Excellence in Refereeing Award by The Review of Economic Studies and the Mid-Career Fellowship by the British Academy.

For Attendees' Attention

Seating is on a first come, first served basis.