Gendered effects of sanctions on manufacturing employment: Evidence from Iran

Abstract

International sanctions have significant economic effects with long-lasting negative consequences for human development. However, academic research on the gendered effects of sanctions is scarce. In fact, most work on sanctions has been either gender neutral or gender blind. This article examines the labor market effects of economic and noneconomic sanctions, imposed by the United States and the United Nations, on male and female employment in manufacturing industries in Iran. The empirical analysis is based on four-digit industry-level employment data from 102 manufacturing industries between 1995 and 2014. Our main findings suggest that international sanctions have disproportionate effects on male and female employment. In particular, we find that sanctions hurt female employment significantly more than male employment. This effect is further compounded in industries that are more capital intensive, where labor compensation has a relatively low share in value added. Furthermore, in industries with relatively high reliance on imported inputs, female employment suffers more from sanctions.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Demir, Firat, and Saleh S. Tabrizy. "Gendered effects of sanctions on manufacturing employment: Evidence from Iran." Review of Development Economics (2022). It has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12917. This article may be used for noncommercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.