Increasing Female Employment in Saudi Arabia

Using social security data from Saudi Arabia, we first document that employment rates increase but match quality sharply declines once government welfare payments expire. We then test intervention using large scale field experiments trying to nudge (female) job seekers to increase job search activities: i) a large employment bonus, ii) information on employer demand for women, iii) information on the sharp increase in female employment across sectors. The presentation will focus on the effects of these interventions on perceived employment barriers and job search intentions.

Speaker:

Dr. Martin Abel, Assistant Professor of Economics at Middlebury College