Title: Foreign Direct Investment and Gender Inequality: Evidence from China

Time: Oct. 25 (Mon), 13:30 – 15:00 (Beijing Time, GMT+8)

About the speaker:

郭汝飞，武汉大学经济与管理学院长聘副教授，博士生导师。研究领域为微观发展经济学和国际经济学，聚焦于全生命历程下的人力资本研究，关注生育、教育、健康、婚姻、养老和性别鸿沟等议题。论文发表于Economic Journal, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Comparative Economics, Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, China Economic Review和《经济研究》等学术期刊。主持国家自然科学基金项目，并担任中国经济学年会人口劳动与健康经济专业委员会委员。

Abstract:

Does Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) contribute to the closing gender education gap? We exploit a deregulation of FDI entry in China to identify the causal effect of FDI on the gender education gap. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that the gender education gap narrows with local exposures to the FDI deregulation. The effect is driven by the expanded relative demand for unskilled young male workers, which relates to the characteristics of the reformed industries. The FDI deregulation also delivers long-run benefits for female career, and buffers China’s sex ratio imbalance.