Dear colleagues, we cordially invite you to our online research seminar on Wed, 16th of December, 2020, 4pm: Elodie Douarin (UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ssees/people/elodie-douarin <https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ssees/people/elodie-douarin> The Feminisation U, Cultural Norms, and the Plough Abstract: The feminisation U describes the tendency of female labour force participation (FLFP) to first decline and then rise in the process of development. Long considered to be a ‘stylised fact’, the feminisation U is actually supported by mixed evidence. This research identifies an important source of heterogeneity in the shape of the feminisation U across countries – the cultural norms and values engendered by the adoption of the plough in pre-industrial times. In line with existing theoretical accounts of the U-curve, which suggest that initial conditions are critical, we find evidence that a tradition of plough use intensifies the U-shaped path of FLFP. Based on a dynamic panel-data estimator, we find evidence of a significantly U-shaped path of FLFP in countries with a history of ancestral plough use, but no such relationship in ‘non-plough countries’. We also explore, and rule out, other potential drivers of heterogeneity (e.g. the timing of the Neolithic revolution), and investigate empirically the causal mechanisms that generate the feminisation U in plough countries. Our results address the empirical controversy surrounding the feminisation U, while shedding new light on the long-run effects of plough adoption. Elodie Douarin a Development Economist and is currently working on the causes and consequences of conflict, aspects of political participation, migration and subjective wellbeing. Selected publications: * Amini, Chiara, and Elodie Douarin. "Corruption and Life Satisfaction in Transition: Is Corruption a Social Norm in Eastern Europe?." Social Indicators Research (2020). * Douarin, Elodie, and Tomasz Mickiewicz. Economics of institutional change: Central and Eastern Europe revisited. Springer, 2017. * Bruno, Randolph Luca, Elodie Douarin, Julia Korosteleva, and Slavo Radosevic. "Technology choices and growth: testing new structural economics in transition economies." Journal of Economic Policy Reform 18, no. 2 (2015): 131-152. Please register at https://www.jku.at/en/department-of-economics/research/research-events/onlin... <https://www.jku.at/en/department-of-economics/research/research-events/online-research-seminar/> for the zoom link. With best regards, René Böheim -- PD René Böheim, PhD Department of Economics JOHANNES KEPLER UNIVERSITÄT LINZ Altenberger Straße 69 4040 Linz, Österreich P +43-732-2468-7369 www.econ.jku.at/boeheim <http://www.econ.jku.at/boeheim> Research: http://ideas.repec.org/e/pbh15.html <http://ideas.repec.org/e/pbh15.html>