This dissertation investigates how social institutions, household structures, and intra-family bargaining dynamics shape women’s participation in the labor market across historical and contemporary contexts. Each essay examines a distinct setting, method, and mechanism through which gender norms and power relations influence women’s economic opportunities.The first chapter explores the transformative effects of World War I on women’s occupational mobility in the U.S. banking sector. Exploiting cross-state variation in male mobilization rates and combining contemporary documentary evidence with census microdata, I show that wartime labor shortages permanently reduced barriers to women’s advancement, in contrast to WWII. States with higher mobilization experienced gains in women’s occupational status and employment in national banks, suggesting that the war served as a catalyst for structural change in a male-dominated industry.The second chapter presents experimental evidence on how bargaining power within households affects the decision to enter the labor market. In a controlled lab setting, participants made real-effort work choices under varying conditions of income control and earnings distribution. The results indicate that a lack of control over household earnings significantly deters labor market entry, and that fear of losing bargaining power can override potential gains in total income. These findings provide micro-level evidence that the perceived distribution of power, rather than absolute financial outcomes, can constrain women’s labor participation.The third chapter turns to modern South Asia, analyzing how multigenerational household structures mediate female labor supply decisions in Pakistan. Using data from the Pakistan Panel Household Survey, I find that a daughter-in-law is 47 percent more likely to work if her mother-in-law has been employed in the past. This intergenerational linkage persists after controlling for literacy, income, and rural residence, highlighting the pivotal role of household norms and social learning in shaping women’s participation decisions. The results suggest that policies promoting women’s work must account for intra-household influences, not just individual characteristics.Together, the three essays demonstrate that women’s labor force participation is not solely a function of market opportunities or individual preferences but is deeply embedded in institutional, social, and household structures. By combining historical, econometric, and experimental methods, this dissertation contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the economic and social determinants of women’s work.
Fatima Zafar Ahmed (Thu,) studied this question.