Female labor force participation in the Mexican economy

The purpose of this study is to examine the main explanatory variables which affect the female participation rate in the Mexican economy. The study focuses not only on economic factors such as income of the household unit, education levels, etc., but also on those social and traditional structures which are highly important within developing countries.

The main feature of this study is that it breaks with the usual pattern of focusing only on those factors which affect male participation in the labor force, and deals directly with the factors that determine female participation. The analysis was carried out using data from the censuses of population and services of the Federal Republic of Mexico, for the year of 1970.

The methodology utilized in the study consists mainly of application of regression techniques to a multivariable model, and examines the response those variables cause in the female participation rate. Because there are clear geographic differences in the structure of the Mexican economy that would not be reflected in time series data for the economy as a whole, comparisons across states are made throughout the testing of the model. The cross-section approach will permit a more precise understanding of the numerical values of the female participation rate, especially, when it is compared with the value of the male participation rate.

The results of the analysis indicated that except for the illiteracy variable all the other variables examined had a statistically significant effect in determining the female labor force participation rate. Those variables include wage, net immigration, fertility, number of children, agricultural poverty, domestic service employment opportunities, and degree of urbanization. Also, a comparison of the values of R² for the female labor force participation rate in general, and the female labor force participation rate for the age group 15 to 19, showed that the former was more responsive to the variables utilized in the model. This may suggest, that in explaining the participation of the young cohort other variables should be included in the model.

Finally, the statistical evidence analyzed demonstrated that female participation is higher in those states which feature a high level of urbanization.