International emigration and labour market outcomes of women staying behind: the case of Morocco

We tackle the issue of women's activity rates in Morocco by adopting a mixed method approach. Using the 2007 household survey, we find that having a migrant in the household increases women's labour participation, while receiving remittances decreases it. While migration increases women's probability of being an unpaid family worker, it has no impact on their probability of having income-generating activities. The qualitative fieldwork indicates that while traditional attitudes are an important factor in women's low levels of engagement in paid activities, the most compelling reason behind this situation lies in the lack of good job opportunities for women.