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IZA Discussion Paper No. 17883
April 2025
Women’s Mobility and Labor Supply: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan

We study whether commuting barriers constrain women’s labor supply in urban Pakistan. We randomize offers of gender-segregated or mixed-gender commuting services at varying prices. Women-only transport more than doubles job application rates, while mixed-gender transport has minimal effects on men’s and women’s application rates. Women value the women-only service more than large price discounts for the mixed-gender service. Results are similar for baseline labor force participants and non-participants, suggesting there are many “latent jobseekers” close to the margin of participation. These findings highlight the importance of safety and propriety concerns in women’s labor decisions.

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Mark Fallak
mark.fallak@liser.lu
+352 585-855-526
World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
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Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

The IZA@LISER Network is a global community of scholars dedicated to excellence in labor economics and related fields, now coordinated at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) following its transition from Bonn.

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