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Articles 1 - 26 of 26
Full-Text Articles in Demography, Population, and Ecology
Partnering With The Private Sector To Strengthen Provision Of Contraception, Karen Hardee, David Wofford, Nandita Thatte
Partnering With The Private Sector To Strengthen Provision Of Contraception, Karen Hardee, David Wofford, Nandita Thatte
Reproductive Health
Family planning is most successful when clients have a variety of methods to choose from and a variety of service delivery sites from which to obtain them. The private sector plays a critical role in family planning and can contribute to a total market approach to providing contraceptives. Among private sector service options, social marketing, social franchising, and pharmacies and drug shops most readily contribute to sustainable markets for contraceptive services. Corporate sector workplace programs also show promise for reaching millions of women. This evidence brief outlines a number of policy and program considerations for countries as they move toward …
What Is The 'Economic Value' Of Learning English In Spain?, Molly M. Robbins
What Is The 'Economic Value' Of Learning English In Spain?, Molly M. Robbins
Scripps Senior Theses
This paper uses historical and economic references to evaluate the economic value of learning English in Spain. Seeing that English is the lingua franca in politics, business, and technology, it is a necessary skill for Spanish citizens to possess in order to efficiently interact in foreign relations of all kinds. Due to Franco’s harsh language policies, and Spain’s ineffective education system, Spain has lacked the same linguistic exposure to foreign languages—especially English—than the rest of Europe. By referencing the previous literature written about the relationship between language and earnings, this paper seeks to find the economic incentive for Spaniards to …
The Reproductive Health Of Young People In Egypt, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Noha Roushdy, Maia Sieverding
The Reproductive Health Of Young People In Egypt, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Noha Roushdy, Maia Sieverding
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This Population Council brief presents results from the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) on reproductive health (RH). The SYPE results underscore the need for: the assessment of state and civil society initiatives to transmit RH information; a national, comprehensive, age-appropriate reproductive health module to be integrated into the educational program; a national campaign on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections that targets young people of reproductive age; the integration of female circumcision into a broader approach to youth reproductive health and bodily rights; specialized reproductive health services for married adolescent girls; and further research on sexuality and reproductive …
Female Disadvantage In The Egyptian Labor Market: A Youth Perspective, Maia Sieverding
Female Disadvantage In The Egyptian Labor Market: A Youth Perspective, Maia Sieverding
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
In this brief, three aspects of female youth’s disadvantage in the labor market are analyzed: low labor force participation, high unemployment, and concentration in the public sector. These issues are closely interrelated and can be addressed through a set of policies that promote family-friendly employment conditions and the formalization of the private sector. The establishment of job search services for female youth is also critical to addressing the gender gap in unemployment.
Social Protection In Egypt: A Policy Overview, Maia Sieverding, Irene Selwaness
Social Protection In Egypt: A Policy Overview, Maia Sieverding, Irene Selwaness
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
The need to address the shortcomings of Egypt’s current social protection system as part of a broader process of developing a new social contract between the Egyptian government and its citizens has been noted for a number of years. With a new government recently put in place, Egypt is now at a potential turning point in terms of implementing unfinished reforms to the system or proposing alternative ones. The aim of this paper is therefore to provide an overview and assessment of current public social protection mechanisms and suggest directions for new policy measures. The social and health insurance systems …
Who Is Covered And Who Under-Reports: An Empirical Analysis Of Access To Social Insurance On The Egyptian Labor Market, Rania Roushdy, Irene Selwaness
Who Is Covered And Who Under-Reports: An Empirical Analysis Of Access To Social Insurance On The Egyptian Labor Market, Rania Roushdy, Irene Selwaness
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This working paper investigates the dynamics and determinants of having access to social insurance coverage on the Egyptian labor market among wage and non-wage workers. The results show that men, older, married, better educated, and white collar highly skilled workers are more likely to have social insurance coverage. Access to social insurance is more likely to exist in the public sector and in large private enterprises. Furthermore, acquiring social insurance coverage in the private wage work sector does not often come at first entry; but it takes some time to gain such access. In contrast, experience is not important for …
Youth Perspectives On Entrepreneurship In Egypt: Barriers To Entrepreneurship As A Means To Combat Youth Unemployment, Maia Sieverding
Youth Perspectives On Entrepreneurship In Egypt: Barriers To Entrepreneurship As A Means To Combat Youth Unemployment, Maia Sieverding
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This brief examines a range of factors that Egyptian youth perceive to be barriers to starting their own business, including high risk, limited access to finance, complexity of micro-credit schemes, lack of business and marketing training, and the need for connections in order to succeed. According to results from the Survey of Young People in Egypt, these factors combine to create the view among many youth that entrepreneurship is not a viable means of labor-market entry. Rather, youth see entrepreneurship as either a supplemental income-generating activity while also having a “regular” job, or as a later-life employment option once they …
Informality And Labor Market Dynamics During Economic Downturns: Evidence From Egypt, Rania Roushdy, May Gadallah
Informality And Labor Market Dynamics During Economic Downturns: Evidence From Egypt, Rania Roushdy, May Gadallah
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This working paper investigates the evolution of the Egyptian labor market during the world financial crisis period. There has been a mild decline in unemployment, combined with a slight increase in both labor force participation and employment to population ratio. Some subgroups of workers have been more vulnerable than others during the crisis period. The results of this paper concur with the historical experience, which suggests that young, old, unskilled and female workers are more likely to bear the brunt of an economic downturn.
Women's Economic Resources And Bargaining In Marriage: Does Egyptian Women's Status Depend On Earnings Or Marriage Payments?, Rania Salem
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This working paper reports on a study using Egyptian survey data to determine whether the effect of women's work on their status is mediated by the material transactions that accompany marriage. This perspective posits that marriage payments made to the bride, as well as assets she herself brings to the marriage, enhance her bargaining position. Analysis of the 2006 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey panel data is used to explore the associations between women’s labor market activity, earnings, absolute and proportional marriage payments, and a measure of women’s status within marriage, namely their decisionmaking power. Consistent with the existing literature, …
Factors Of Career Mobility In Egypt By Gender, May Gadallah
Factors Of Career Mobility In Egypt By Gender, May Gadallah
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This Population Council working paper describes the opportunity cost of women’s participation in the labor market in Egypt, a critical determinant of not only participating in the labor market, but also of continuing in it. The paper observes career mobility and job-to-job turnover by gender; it also looks at career development over a period of time and analyzes the impact of different factors on career development. The importance of the results increases with the privatization trend in the Egyptian economy. Findings show that 90 percent of women work in the public sector where career paths are similar regardless of gender; …
On Trade Policies And Wage Disparity In Egypt: Evidence From Microeconomic Data, Chahir Zaki
On Trade Policies And Wage Disparity In Egypt: Evidence From Microeconomic Data, Chahir Zaki
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This working paper assesses the extent to which trade barriers, including traditional tariff barriers, non-tariff measures, and red tape, affect wage disparity and employment in Egypt. Using a microeconomic dataset, the author assesses to what extent different trade barriers affected wage disparity and employment in Egypt. This disparity is studied in three dimensions: on gender (males vs. females), qualification (blue vs. white collar workers), and regional (urban vs. rural workers). Findings show that both non-tariff measures and red tape barriers have a higher impact than traditional tariffs on wage disparity and that women, urban workers, and blue collar workers are …
Transition From Higher Education To The Labor Market: Unemployment Among Graduates From The Gender Perspective In The Palestinian Territory, Saleh Alkafri
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This research highlights and identifies the factors affecting the low potential of female graduates entering the labor market in the Palestinian Territories, despite their achievements in education. The results show that employers’ attitudes limit the occupations and activities that women can engage in, and delays in obtaining work often lead women out of the labor market. However, the report also shows that the problem of unemployment among graduates is worse in specific areas and disciplines where education and training do not match the requirements of the labor market. Given this general trend, Palestinian decisionmakers face extraordinary challenges to provide opportunities …
Who Is Covered And Who Underreports: Access To Social Insurance On The Egyptian Labor Market, Irene Selwaness, Rania Roushdy
Who Is Covered And Who Underreports: Access To Social Insurance On The Egyptian Labor Market, Irene Selwaness, Rania Roushdy
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
In Egypt, as in many developing countries, the convergence of poverty and lack of social security places the working poor in a vulnerable situation that mandates immediate action in research and programmatic interventions. Before the January 25th revolution, a focus on social security was relevant in view of the insecurities instigated by increasing market liberalization and the shrinking role of the state in services and employment. The revolution and its aftermath heightened a sense of insecurity and labor protests mandated a serious re-evaluation of recent labor market policies and the social protection system in Egypt. Issues of social security, employment, …
Rethinking The Time Allocation Of Egyptian Females: A Matching Analysis, Rana Hardy
Rethinking The Time Allocation Of Egyptian Females: A Matching Analysis, Rana Hardy
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This study explores the extremely biased division of labor within Egyptian households. The effects of marriage on women’s market and domestic labor supplies are important aspects of this study conducted by the Population Council for its working paper series on gender and work in the Mideast-North Africa region. New explanations for married women’s low participation rates are proposed. A matching model is estimated to determine how selection into marriage alters the time allocation of women. The empirical results show that marriage significantly affects both types of work with married women spending about eight hours less on market work weekly relative …
Safe And Smart Savings Products For Vulnerable Adolescent Girls In Kenya And Uganda: Results From The Uganda Pilot Evaluation, Karen Austrian
Safe And Smart Savings Products For Vulnerable Adolescent Girls In Kenya And Uganda: Results From The Uganda Pilot Evaluation, Karen Austrian
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This presentation was given at the Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference in Washington DC, USA in 2011. It looks at results from a Uganda Pilot Program to provide financial education among girls and increase asset building in the form of Girls Savings Programs. Results from this study saw that savings programs build social, health, and economic assets for girls.
Female Wages In The Egyptian Textiles And Clothing Industry: Low Pay Or Discrimination?, Amirah El-Haddad
Female Wages In The Egyptian Textiles And Clothing Industry: Low Pay Or Discrimination?, Amirah El-Haddad
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This Population Council working paper analyzes data collected from a survey of firms and workers in the textiles and clothing sector in Egypt. These data allow for the explanation of the sector’s gender wage gap by poorer endowments, and relegation of women to low-paying firms and occupations; and by within-firm and within-occupation differential in returns. There is a pay gap in this sector, with men receiving an hourly wage 29 percent higher than that of women, partly because women are concentrated in the lower paid occupations, with a clear glass ceiling in effect, and outright discrimination occurs. The largest of …
Women's Job Search Behavior In The Egyptian Labor Market, Somaya Abdel Mowla
Women's Job Search Behavior In The Egyptian Labor Market, Somaya Abdel Mowla
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This study evaluates the difference between male and female job search behavior in the Egyptian labor market and the changes in this behavior between 1998 and 2006, in order to examine the effect of transition toward a market-oriented economy on job search activity. The paper also investigates the determinants of women’s job search behavior. The results reveal three alarming facts that raise worries about women’s labor force participation and their future labor market outcomes: women were less active job searchers than men, the gender gap in job search has widened, and this gap is even wider when excluding registration in …
The Political Demography Of The World System, 2000-2050, Paul Demeny, Geoffrey Mcnicoll
The Political Demography Of The World System, 2000-2050, Paul Demeny, Geoffrey Mcnicoll
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Population policies are deliberately constructed or modified institutional arrangements and/or specific programs through which governments influence, directly or indirectly, demographic change. For any given country, the aim of population policy may be narrowly construed as bringing about quantitative changes in the membership of the territorially circumscribed population under the government’s jurisdiction. Governments’ concern with population matters can also extend beyond the borders of their own jurisdictions. Thus, international aspects of population policy have become increasingly salient. This Population Council working paper briefly discusses how individual and collective interests were reconciled in traditional societies, summarizes the population policy approaches adopted by …
Tap And Reposition Youth (Try): Providing Social Support, Savings, And Microcredit Opportunities For Young Women In Areas With High Hiv Prevalence, Annabel Erulkar, Judith Bruce, Aleke Dondo, Jennefer Sebstad, James K. Matheka, Arjmand Banu Khan, Anne Gathuku
Tap And Reposition Youth (Try): Providing Social Support, Savings, And Microcredit Opportunities For Young Women In Areas With High Hiv Prevalence, Annabel Erulkar, Judith Bruce, Aleke Dondo, Jennefer Sebstad, James K. Matheka, Arjmand Banu Khan, Anne Gathuku
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Tap and Reposition Youth (TRY) was a multiphase initiative undertaken by the Population Council and K-Rep Development Agency (KDA), the oldest and largest microfinance institution in Kenya. The overall aim of the project was to reduce adolescents’ vulnerabilities to adverse social and reproductive health outcomes, including HIV infection, by improving their livelihoods options. The project was launched in low-income and slum areas of Nairobi, Kenya, where rates of HIV infection are alarming and where young women are disproportionately affected.
Examining Adherence And Sexual Behavior Among Patients On Antiretroviral Therapy In India, Avina Sarna, Indrani Gupta, Sanjay Pujari, A.K. Sengar, Rajiv Garg, Ellen Weiss
Examining Adherence And Sexual Behavior Among Patients On Antiretroviral Therapy In India, Avina Sarna, Indrani Gupta, Sanjay Pujari, A.K. Sengar, Rajiv Garg, Ellen Weiss
HIV and AIDS
With increased availability of ART, HIV-positive individuals are living healthier lives and continuing or resuming sexual activity. However, optimism related to ART’s success in slowing disease progression, reducing viral load, and improving health status may lead to more risky sexual practices and a possible increase in transmission of infections. To determining the sexual behavior of HIV-positive persons on ART, the Horizons program, in collaboration with research partners in Delhi and Pune, conducted a study to assess current levels of adherence to ART among a sample of people living with HIV/AIDS, identify the factors that influence their adherence to treatment, and …
Population Aging And The Rising Cost Of Public Pensions, John Bongaarts
Population Aging And The Rising Cost Of Public Pensions, John Bongaarts
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Rapid population aging is raising concerns about the sustainability of public pension systems in high-income countries. The first part of this study identifies the four factors that determine trends in public pension expenditures: population aging, pension benefit levels, the mean age at retirement, and the labor force participation rate. The second part presents projections to 2050 of the impact of demographic trends on public pension expenditures in the absence of changes in pension benefits, labor force participation, and age at retirement. These projections demonstrate that current trends are unsustainable, because without reforms population aging will produce an unprecedented and harmful …
Using Incentives To Encourage Aids Programs And Policies In The Workplace: A Study Of Feasibility And Impact In Thailand, Simon Baker, Srisuman Sartsara, Patchara Rumakom, Philip Guest, Katie D. Schenk, Anthony Pramualratana, Suparat Suksakulwat, Surachai Panakitsuwan, Sikarat Moonmeung
Using Incentives To Encourage Aids Programs And Policies In The Workplace: A Study Of Feasibility And Impact In Thailand, Simon Baker, Srisuman Sartsara, Patchara Rumakom, Philip Guest, Katie D. Schenk, Anthony Pramualratana, Suparat Suksakulwat, Surachai Panakitsuwan, Sikarat Moonmeung
HIV and AIDS
A recently completed Horizons study in Thailand examined the question of how to encourage the private sector to become actively involved in developing and improving workplace HIV/AIDS programs. The study found that the AIDS-response Standard Organization (ASO) initiative mobilized a moderate proportion of different types of companies to develop and improve HIV/AIDS workplace policies and programs. The data also reveal that companies that were eligible for the insurance discount made the greatest improvements. Thus a financial incentive combined with efforts to tap into managers’ willingness to respond to the epidemic can be important motivators for certain companies to improve their …
Microfinance And Households Coping With Hiv/Aids In Zimbabwe: An Exploratory Study, Carolyn Barnes, Erica Keogh, Nontokozo Nemarundwe, Loveness Nyikahadzoi, Ellen Weiss
Microfinance And Households Coping With Hiv/Aids In Zimbabwe: An Exploratory Study, Carolyn Barnes, Erica Keogh, Nontokozo Nemarundwe, Loveness Nyikahadzoi, Ellen Weiss
HIV and AIDS
This study, conducted in Zimbabwe, sought to better understand the relationship between a microfinance program, Zambuko Trust, and how microentrepreneurs’ households cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS. The study examined how HIV/AIDS is affecting Zambuko’s operations and what microfinance institutions (MFIs) can do to lessen the impact of HIV/AIDS on their clients and operations. The findings indicate several small yet important ways that MFI programs help microentrepreneurs and their families respond to these impacts through access to credit and business management training. Participation in a microfinance program led to income smoothing and better financial management, which can help households mitigate …
Youth Livelihood Opportunities In Egypt, Safaa El-Kogali, Nagah Hassan Al Bassusi
Youth Livelihood Opportunities In Egypt, Safaa El-Kogali, Nagah Hassan Al Bassusi
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This report presents results from a quantitative and qualitative study on youth livelihood opportunities in Egypt. The study was motivated by growing evidence of increasing unemployment among the young at a time when new entrants into the labor force are also increasing at unprecedented rates. Egypt has a youth population of over 13 million aged 15–24—over a fifth of the total population. They constitute the largest segment of the economically active population. Whether this bulge of young workers entering the labor force is a “demographic gift” or a “demographic burden” depends in large measure on the policies that are in …
Gender And Generation In Household Labor Supply In Jordan, Mary Kawar
Gender And Generation In Household Labor Supply In Jordan, Mary Kawar
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This paper examines gender and age differences in the labor supply of households in Jordan, and the impact of young women’s employment on gender and generation relations. The objective of the study is to address the issues of gender and generation as factors influencing accessibility to labor markets, and to provide a broader understanding of female employment by exploring age-related factors. Empirically, the study looks at the disproportionate workforce participation of young urban single women in Amman, Jordan, and argues that this generation of working women is evidence of a new stage in the lives of Jordanian women: single employed …
The Muek-Lek Women's Dairy Project In Thailand, Aruna Rao
The Muek-Lek Women's Dairy Project In Thailand, Aruna Rao
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This issue of SEEDS describes a project that was started in 1985 to encourage the growth of a new agricultural sector, dairy farming, in Thailand. While the major aim of the project was to increase incomes of rural families in the Muek-Lek Land Reform Area in Saraburi Province, Central Thailand, it also sought to integrate women into dairying activities, and offer these women, whether married or single, access to credit. The Muek-Lek Dairy Project is unique in that it channeled government resources and secured commercial bank financing to make women the key participants in a relatively new and growing agricultural …