Research Abstract: South Asia has the lowest female labor force participation rate (FLFPR) of any region in the world. Across the subcontinent, only approximately 25–30% of working-age women participate in the labor force, compared with approximately 50% globally and approximately 60% in East and Southeast Asia. This gender participation gap represents one of the most significant untapped sources of productivity growth in the region. Yet, within South Asia, specific states, sectors, and communities have achieved dramatic improvements in women’s economic participation and empowerment —...
Structural Transformation, Gig Work, and Labor Market Informality in Developing Asia: Trends, Determinants, and Policy Responses
Across the middle-income economies that constitute the demographic and economic center of gravity of the region — India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand — the composition of informality is shifting decisively toward services, and within services, toward a rapidly growing category that defies traditional analytical frameworks: platform-mediated gig work.