01871cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF017885 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781484315569 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Atoyan, Ruben. Western Balkans : Increasing Women's Role in the Economy / Ruben Atoyan, Jesmin Rahman. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2017. 1 online resource (28 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students The Western Balkan countries have some of the lowest female labor force participation and employment rates across Europe. Almost two-thirds of working age women in the region are either inactive or unemployed: a huge bite into human capital for a region that endures high emigration and faces declining working age population. The paper uses both macro- and micro-level data to explore what explains low participation and employment rates among women in the region. Our findings show that improving educational attainment, having a more balanced family leave policy, and reducing tax wedge help improve participation of women in the labor force. However, these measures are not enough to notably improve employability of women, which require stronger growth supported by robust institutions. Mode of access: Internet Rahman, Jesmin. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2017/194 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2017/194/001.2017.issue-194-en.xml IMF e-Library