Women’s Participation in the Labor Market and Children’s Educational Progress in Senegal

This research aimed to better understand the impact of a mother’s work on girls’ and boys’ school progression at the end of primary school in Senegal. The observed correlations between a child’s educational success and the mother’s labor market involvement may not indicate causation but could instea...

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Main Authors: Mamadou Laye Ndoye, Touwédé Bénédicte Atchade
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Economies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/5/132
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author Mamadou Laye Ndoye
Touwédé Bénédicte Atchade
author_facet Mamadou Laye Ndoye
Touwédé Bénédicte Atchade
author_sort Mamadou Laye Ndoye
collection DOAJ
description This research aimed to better understand the impact of a mother’s work on girls’ and boys’ school progression at the end of primary school in Senegal. The observed correlations between a child’s educational success and the mother’s labor market involvement may not indicate causation but could instead result from other shared factors influencing both variables (an endogeneity issue). To address this issue, we estimated a bivariate model with two equations, one explaining the mother’s participation in the labor market and the other explaining the child’s educational survival, applied to data from the Integrated Regional Survey on Employment and the Informal Sector (ERI-ESI-2018). We discovered that certain individual characteristics, such as age, education level, and marital status, as well as family characteristics, including household size and parents’ social background, play significant roles in maintaining women’s labor market activity. Furthermore, we concluded that mothers’ participation in the labor market has a positive and significant effect (at 10%) on boys’ success in primary school exit exams, while the impact on girls is negative and not statistically significant. When controlling for various factors, we found that children whose mothers possess higher levels of education are more likely to pass their primary school exams. The results highlight the significance of women’s education, underscoring its role in not only integrating women into the labor market, but also in fostering their children’s academic success. In terms of economic policy implications, the study suggests that state authorities should continue to invest more in improving women’s literacy rates and in strengthening their academic and professional capacities, thereby enabling them to achieve advanced levels of education and higher qualifications.
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spelling doaj-art-03e84fb6c5e94404b0fbc7a85865ab522025-08-20T03:47:49ZengMDPI AGEconomies2227-70992025-05-0113513210.3390/economies13050132Women’s Participation in the Labor Market and Children’s Educational Progress in SenegalMamadou Laye Ndoye0Touwédé Bénédicte Atchade1Laboratoire d’Economie Publique (LEP), Faculty of Economics and Management (FASEG), Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD), Dakar 10700, SenegalFaculty of Economics and Management (FASEG), University of Abomey Calavi (UAC), Abomey-Calavi 01 BP 526, BeninThis research aimed to better understand the impact of a mother’s work on girls’ and boys’ school progression at the end of primary school in Senegal. The observed correlations between a child’s educational success and the mother’s labor market involvement may not indicate causation but could instead result from other shared factors influencing both variables (an endogeneity issue). To address this issue, we estimated a bivariate model with two equations, one explaining the mother’s participation in the labor market and the other explaining the child’s educational survival, applied to data from the Integrated Regional Survey on Employment and the Informal Sector (ERI-ESI-2018). We discovered that certain individual characteristics, such as age, education level, and marital status, as well as family characteristics, including household size and parents’ social background, play significant roles in maintaining women’s labor market activity. Furthermore, we concluded that mothers’ participation in the labor market has a positive and significant effect (at 10%) on boys’ success in primary school exit exams, while the impact on girls is negative and not statistically significant. When controlling for various factors, we found that children whose mothers possess higher levels of education are more likely to pass their primary school exams. The results highlight the significance of women’s education, underscoring its role in not only integrating women into the labor market, but also in fostering their children’s academic success. In terms of economic policy implications, the study suggests that state authorities should continue to invest more in improving women’s literacy rates and in strengthening their academic and professional capacities, thereby enabling them to achieve advanced levels of education and higher qualifications.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/5/132labor marketeducational progressioninstrumental variableSenegal
spellingShingle Mamadou Laye Ndoye
Touwédé Bénédicte Atchade
Women’s Participation in the Labor Market and Children’s Educational Progress in Senegal
Economies
labor market
educational progression
instrumental variable
Senegal
title Women’s Participation in the Labor Market and Children’s Educational Progress in Senegal
title_full Women’s Participation in the Labor Market and Children’s Educational Progress in Senegal
title_fullStr Women’s Participation in the Labor Market and Children’s Educational Progress in Senegal
title_full_unstemmed Women’s Participation in the Labor Market and Children’s Educational Progress in Senegal
title_short Women’s Participation in the Labor Market and Children’s Educational Progress in Senegal
title_sort women s participation in the labor market and children s educational progress in senegal
topic labor market
educational progression
instrumental variable
Senegal
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/5/132
work_keys_str_mv AT mamadoulayendoye womensparticipationinthelabormarketandchildrenseducationalprogressinsenegal
AT touwedebenedicteatchade womensparticipationinthelabormarketandchildrenseducationalprogressinsenegal