Jorge M. López-Álvarez (p), Carmen Lima, Ana M. Canales-Fernandez

Michaela Fuchs

Although the European Union and member states have developed different social, legal and economic mechanisms in order to eradicate gender inequality, it is an outstanding issue and a matter of relevant concern in our society nowadays. Actually, gender mainstreaming has become one of the priorities in the refunding of the European Union integration project in the aftermaths of the recent economic crisis. In this paper we focus on the concept of gender budgeting as commitment tool for the present and coming years in order to give some light on how this goal might be better implemented and achieved. To this aim, we develop a methodological framework based on a multisectorial model computed on the basis of a
disaggregated Social Accounting Matrix, in order to analyse whether alternative gender oriented allocation rules of NextGeneration EU funds might impact on labour indicators of a European regional economy, as a counterfactual analysis of the currently approved baseline distribution. After defining several simulation scenarios, we assess the impact of alternative allocation criteria on different educational level groups by gender, as well as their implications in terms of households’ consumption. Our results reveal that gender oriented budget policies might positively contribute to reduce the gender gap and report relevant multiplier effects that deserve to be explored.

Korneliusz Pylak (p), Alina Sorgner

Jorge M. López-Álvarez

In this paper, we study determinants of gender differences in regional entrepreneurial activities. Our particular focus is on the historical level of female and male entrepreneurship in a region and its role in explaining the contemporary gender gaps in regional entrepreneurship. We combine both literatures on gender differences in entrepreneurship and on long-term persistence of regional entrepreneurship to explain the contemporary gender differences in regional entrepreneurship activities. Our empirical analysis is based on data from Poland that offers a unique case for our analysis due to the fact that in the past regions constituting contemporary Poland were under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian, German, and Russian powers. Poland was also one of the first European countries to allow women to vote and to work in public administration, making it possible to observe historical female employment rates. The results show that the gaps for the self-employed with and without employees change dramatically over time. We confirmed the existence of very interesting patterns, including following male patterns of employers and solo patterns of women, which may have influenced women's transition from solo self-employment to hiring employees. We argue that policy measures to promote gender equality in entrepreneurship should have a regional focus and consider specific historical contingencies of a region.

Barbara Martini (p)

Korneliusz Pylak

According to the definition provided by the World Health Organization, gender refers to the social and cultural expectations, roles, and characteristics that a particular society or culture associates with being male or female. Gender is seen as distinct from biological sex, which refers to the physical characteristics that define women and men.
A growing body of literature in economics focused on the relationship between gender and economic outcomes. This literature covers a wide range of topics, including the gender wage gap, occupational segregation, and the economic impact of discrimination and policies aimed at promoting gender equality. Becker (1965) contribution applied standard neoclassical instruments to the distribution of paid and unpaid work within the family, while Nelson 1995, Altonji and Blank 1999, Hakim 2000, Goldin 2014, Piazzalunga 2018, Roethlisberger et al., 2022 aim to investigate the different behavior of females and males in the job market and earning pay gap and vertical and horizontal segregation (Olivetti and Petrongolo 2016, Ngai and Petrongolo 2017, Petrongolo and Ronchi 2020). Another strand of literature (Galor and Weil 1996, Brausten, Bouhia and Seguino 2020, Cubers and Teignier 2014, Santos Silva and Klasen 2021, Seguino 2000, 2010, 2020) explores the relationship between gender inequality and economic growth. The results highlight that reducing gender inequality enhances economic growth. Female participation in the job market is also conditioned by national institutions such as welfare regimes, social policies, employment protection legislation (Hall et al., 2019), and social and cultural norms (Alesina et al., 2011). Another area of research in the literature on gender and economics is occupational segregation, which refers to the tendency of men and women to work in different types of jobs (Alberda 1986; Browne & Misra 2003; Levanon & Grunsky 2016, Baum & Benshaul-Tolonen 2021). These studies highlighted that women are over-represented in lower-paying and less resilient occupations, such as those in the service sector, while men are mainly concentrated in industry. Gender segregation between and within industries finds its roots not only in cultural and social components, but also because of the gendered distribution of resources, such as education and training.

Elena Renzullo (p)

Barbara Martini

The political supply (features of the politician in charge) and the citizens’ demand (interest groups) are two crucial political determinants of public service provision. By leveraging the role of gender, this work studies the relevance of political supply and citizens’ demand on public early childcare provision in Italian municipalities. Does the gender of the Italian mayor (political supply) matter for public early childcare? Does female employment (citizens’ demand) affect nursery school provision? I rely on a causal sharp RDD strategy in closed mix-gender elections and on an IV strategy to answer these two questions taking into account the many empirical challenges. I find that Italian female mayors do not provide larger early childcare provisions than their male counterparts whereas female employment is pivotal for the availability of childcare spots and the expenditures for children between 0-3.

Michaela Fuchs (p)

Elena Renzullo

This paper investigates differences in the spatial distribution of women and men across occupations, thereby contributing to the sparse literature on regional gender differences in occupational segregation. Using detailed information on all employees in Germany for the year 2019, I calculate the index of dissimilarity at the level of the NUTS 3-regions. Results show profound regional disparities in occupational segregation among men and women in Germany. The spatial pattern indicates a lower degree of segregation in cities, and descriptive evidence for the two extreme regions reveal distinctive gender differences both in occupational and regional respect. First multiple regression results point towards the relevance of the local labor market structure, gender and family relations as well as the local socio-demographic composition for explaining regional differences in the dissimilarity index. Evidently, there seems to be a bundle of factors that explain regional differences in occupational segregation in Germany, which entails important implications for local labor market actors for reducing both detrimental effects for women and labour and skill shortages.