%0 Report %A Adida, Claire L. %A Laitin, David D. %A Valfort, Marie-Anne %T Gender, Economic Development and Islam: A Perspective from France %D 2012 %8 2012 Mar %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) %C Bonn %7 IZA Discussion Paper %N 6421 %U https://www.iza.org/publications/dp6421 %X Muslims do less well on the French labor market than their non Muslim counterparts. One explanation for this relative failure can be characterized by the following syllogism: (1) the empowerment of women is a sine qua non for economic progress; (2) in-group norms among Muslims do not empower women; and hence (3) Muslim communities will underperform economically relative to non-Muslim communities. This paper, relying on a unique identification strategy that isolates religion from national origin and ethnicity, and on experimental as well as survey evidence collected in France, puts this syllogism to a test. Our data show that Muslim and Christian gender norms are as postulated. However, the correlations between Muslim vs. Christian immigrants and the channels purported to link in-group gender norms to economic progress are weak and inconsistent. Speculations are offered on the intervening variables that mitigate the effect of Muslim gender norms on economic performance. %K development %K Islam %K gender %K discrimination %K France %K experimental economics