IMF-跨境移民对拉丁美洲和加勒比国家劳动力参与性别差距的影响（英）

Impact of Cross-Border Migration on the Gender Gap in Labor Force Participation in Latin America and in the Caribbean Countries Cassie Chen Xiang and Manuk Ghazanchyan WP/25/167 IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management. 2025 AUG © 2025 International Monetary Fund WP/25/167IMF Working Paper Western Hemisphere Department Impact of Cross-Border Migration on the Gender Gap in Labor Force Participation in Latin America and in the Caribbean Countries Prepared by Cassie Chen Xiang and Manuk Ghazanchyan * Authorized for distribution by Patrizia Tumbarello August 2025 IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management. ABSTRACT: Migration has been typically accompanied by persistently large gender gaps in labor force participation (LFP) rates within the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries from 1990 to 2020. However, the impact of both emigration (moving abroad) and immigration (coming in to the host country), and their joint effect on gender gap in labor force participation in LAC remains to be explored. This paper fills this gap by using both country-level data across LAC countries and individual-level data within Colombia as a supplementary case study. Our country-level analysis of LAC countries from 1991 to 2019 reveals that emigration is associated with decreased labor force participation rates, particularly among women. Supporting these findings, and based on data on Colombia from 2017 to 2019, we found that remittances, serving as a proxy for emigration, are associated with reduced labor force participation, especially among less-educated, older, and informal-sector women workers shaped by structural barriers and policy gaps. The reduced LFP rates for all genders are also shown with the influx of Venezuelan immigrants (serving as a proxy for an immigration shock) in the Colombian case. RECOMMENDED CITATION: Xiang, C., and Ghazanchyan, M. “Impact of cross-border migration on the gender gap in labor force participation in Latin America and in the Caribbean countries,” IMF Working Paper (Washington DC: International Monetary Fund). JEL Classification Numbers: F22, J16, J21 Keywords: Emigration; Immigration; Gender Inequality; Labor Force Participation; Latin America and Caribbean Authors’ E-Mail Addresses: cxiang@connect.ust.hk; mghazanchyan@imf.org * Cassie Chen Xiang is currently a graduating PhD Candidate in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Shecompleted this project during her internship in the Western Hemisphere Department of the Inter