A Paper Review on the Economics of the Middle East

Workforce is a significant aspect in every country’s economy.  There are some areas that has a large number of employment opportunities yet with just a few people applying for work which could be due to lack of skill or because of culture when it comes to women workers especially the married ones.

This usually becomes an issue in places where women are not able to work so that they could tend to their children everyday.  In some countries, it still taboo for women to get employed since their role is considered as a housekeeper thus not requiring them to seek employment and it is the husbands’ role to be the breadwinner and be the one to put food on the table.

This research paper was conducted to help determine whether child care availability would affect women’s employment decisions in the Arab countries, most specifically in Israel where the free Pre-Kindergarten Law for three to four year old kids was implemented last September 1999. This also tried to find out about the effects of child care costs on fertility.

According to Analia Schosser, who wrote the research paper, women’s participation in the labor force would help promote women empowerment and gender equality.  This would also help in the progress of a country’s economy and modernization.  A minimal labor force participation of women is often attributed to cultural factors.

 I do agree with the author of this paper that having women in the labor force would allow them to earn a living and be able to help support their families financially at the same time help their country’s economy and  also reduce the gender gaps in the employment area.  Mothers would also realize how imperative it is for their kids to get to build a foundation for their children’s education.

This paper may be based on a study done in one country only but there are some countries that are somewhat of the same situation as that of Israel and this will serve as a basis of a change in the role of women in their societies as well. This could boost the economy of one place if women consider seeking employment and were at the same time considered for employment by certain companies.  This could also enhance the educational growth of children who are of pre-school age.

It was found in this research that the Pre-Kindergarten Law of Israel successfully fulfilled two aspects which were the increase of children’s enrollment in pre-school and the increase of the women’s labor supply.

It just goes to show that women gave the priority in child-rearing thus giving them no time to seek for employment or they could not afford to put their children to get a pre-school education but when free education was available, it significantly showed a change in the women’s participation on the labor force thereby helping their country as well.  The research also found that there were no short-term fertility responses among mothers affected by the intervention.

It would strengthen the findings of this research and be very essential if a follow up is made after a few more years among the same communities offered by the free pre-school education.  A research of the same kind will also help if conducted in another country that has the same predicament.

Researches of this type can help a government’s decision on what aspect and ways they need to implement for the enhancement of their community and their economy.

Works Cited
Schlosser, Analía. “Public Preschool and the Labor Supply of Arab Mothers: Evidence from a   Natural Experiment.” 2005.