Male-Female Wage Differential in the West Bank: A Gender-Based Analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Citation:

Loewenthal, Amit, and Sami H. Miaari. 2020. "Male-Female Wage Differential in the West Bank: A Gender-Based Analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." Defence and Peace Economics. doi:10.1080/10242694.2020.1768340.

Authors: Amit Loewenthal, Sami H. Miaari

Abstract:

This paper studies the gender wage differential in the Palestinian labor market of the West Bank before, during, and in the aftermath of the second Intifada. We combine data on the Palestinian labor force, politically motivated fatalities of Palestinians, and movement restrictions in the West Bank, in order to quantify the effect of political violence on the gender wage gap. We find that political violence during the second Intifada decreased the gender wage gap. We also observe a long-term trend of more women entering the labor force, especially in middle-income occupations where there is an existing large share of female employees. Political violence did not seem to reverse or hurt that trend. We provide suggestive evidence that the reduction in the wage gap is due to the increased supply of low-skilled men, who previously worked in Israel and entered the local labor market due to the Intifada.

Keywords: conflict, gender, wage gap, Intifada, palestine

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Livelihoods, Violence Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories

Year: 2020