Determinants of Female Labour Force Participation in Burma: An Empirical Analysis of Socio-Economic Survey Data

Abstract

This paper seeks to identify the major determinants of female labour force participation (LFP) in the urban area and to examine how these determinants associate with female LFP. The data from the socio-economic survey of urban women undertaken in Rangoon, Burma, during May to July 1998, are analyzed by the logistic regression model. A number of potential variables for inclusion in the logistic regression are identified on the basis of results of the chi-squared tests and also on the basis of theoretical models which explain female participation in the labour force. The results suggest that husband’s income and marital status are important factors while educational attainment does not significantly affect (less significant for unmarried women than for married women) Burmese urban women entering into the labour force.