Speaker
Description
War results in sex imbalance, which in turn, has been shown to increase female labour force participation (FLFP). Existing evidence on the nexus between conflict and FLFP predominantly stems from developed nations which may not fully capture the dynamics in developing contexts. This paper examines the impact of the Vietnam War on Vietnamese women's labour market outcomes 14 to 44 years after its conclusion. To this end, I match comprehensive historical data on ordnance deployed by the United States in Vietnam to microdata. I find that war-induced demographic shocks contributed to increasing FLFP rates in South Vietnam, but not North Vietnam where Socialist ideology may have played a larger role in promoting FLFP. In terms of mechanism, I find that war widows increased their labour supply to compensate for the negative income shock caused by the loss of their husbands. I also find that daughters of widows are more likely to work than daughters of non-widows. However, I find a lack of support for demand-side mechanisms, namely, substitution towards female labour.
| Keyword | Economic History |
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