Closing the gender gaps in economic opportunities is crucial for boosting economic growth and the empowerment of women. In this paper, we study how foreign firms contribute in reducing gender disparities in the labour market by transferring the gender norms of their country of origin to the affiliates in the host countries. We use cross sectional data on foreign firms located in 19 Sub Saharan Africa countries in 2010 by UNIDO. We find that firms coming from more gender equal countries employ more female workers in their affiliates. This effect is more relevant for the highly skilled female workers.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on participation and time allocated to work from home (WFH) by ethnic/racial group.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ USA time-use data [American Time Use Survey (ATUS)] for the 2017–2020 period and a parametric approach in their analysis.FindingsEstimates show that the time allocated to WFH increased during COVID-19, especially for women. This increase is likely driven by more workers shifting to WFH (higher participation) rather than by longer hours worked by those who already teleworked. The authors also find relevant differences in the impact of COVID-19 on WFH by ethnic/racial group. Among ethnic/racial groups, only Asians increased WFH compared to White Americans. Within this ethnic group, the authors find significant differences across genders. Asian men increased participation in WFH, whereas Asian women increased both participation and hours worked, compared to White American women. Differences in this racial/ethnic group could be explained by previous research, which demonstrates a higher ability of Asians to perform job tasks remotely. However, this finding could also be attributed to an increase in discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the recent and limited literature exploring the heterogeneous impact of COVID-19 on participation and time allocated to WFH by ethnic/racial group. Understanding the mechanisms driving vulnerable populations' abilities to work during socioeconomic downturns is of high policy importance.

Identifying the transaction costs helps knowing which are the real costs of starting a new business, finding bottlenecks, can serve to reduce inefficiencies and encourage more effective reforms. In this article we analyze the impact of transaction costs in interactions between firms and public authority, when firms participate in the bidding procedure for constructing new hydropower plants until the stage of producing electricity. In the first years, after granting the concession right, firms face many difficulties due to a complex normative regulation, contractual conditions and bureaucracy. Although in the majority of the cases, winning firms are provided by the public authority with the concessionary permit within the legal deadlines, they fail to start producing electricity within the declared timetable. Even though direct transaction costs computed by measuring the actual costs that firms or individuals face during these procedures may be relatively low, fairly 1-2 % of the total cost of investment, opportunity costs considering the potential loss in the revenues due to delays in producing and selling electricity, in some cases, can be equal to the total cost of constructing the implant.

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