About the determinants of female labor force participation in Southern Europe

Female Activity rates in Southern Europe (Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal) have systematically been quite low if compared to EU standards. Nevertheless, in the last twenty five years the general trend in the region has been characterised by a considerable and continuous increase, even if cross-country comparisons highlight quite some heterogeneity. The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the macro-determinants of female labour force participation in the 1986-2011 period. Panel regressions measure the association of demographic, socio-economic and institutional determinants with female activity rates. Results show total fertility rate, crude divorce rate, male unemployment rate, proportion of females on part-time employment and public expenditure on family-child policies as the main determinants that have encouraged female participation rates.