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PRWP

Reproducibility package for Wage Subsidies To Promote Female Hiring: Evidence From Pakistan

2025
Get Reproducibility Package
Reference ID
RR_PAK_2025_511
DOI
https://doi.org/10.60572/q9my-gt15
Author(s)
Maurizio Bussolo, Jean Lee, Mahreen Mahmud, Nayantara Sarma, Anaise Williams
Collections
World Bank Policy Research Working Papers
Metadata
JSON
Created on
Dec 29, 2025
Last modified
Jan 08, 2026
  • Overview
  • Reproducibility Package
  • Description
  • Scope and coverage
  • Disclaimer
  • Access and rights
  • Contacts
  • Information on metadata
  • Citation

    • Overview

    Abstract

    Can employer-side wage subsidies increase women’s hiring in low female labor force
    participation settings? We test this through a randomized experiment with 1,227
    Pakistani firms on a national jobs platform. Treatment firms were offered a six-month
    wage subsidy determined via the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak mechanism. They were
    11 percentage points more likely to hire a woman, with larger effects for male-only
    firms. After 18 months, the treatment effect on employing a woman persisted, though
    firm-wide share of female employees did not change. Additionally, administrative data
    show treated firms reduced male-preference language in job postings, consistent with
    emerging demand-side shifts.

    Reproducibility Package

    Scripts
    Get Reproducibility Package
    File name
    RR_PAK_2025_511
    Zip package
    RR_PAK_2025_511.zip
    Title
    Reproducibility package for Wage Subsidies To Promote Female Hiring: Evidence From Pakistan
    Date
    2025-12
    Dependencies
    R dependencies are listed in the file renv.lock. Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder.
    Instructions
    See README in reproducibility package.
    Notes
    Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.
    Source code repository
    Repository name URI
    Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) https://reproducibility.worldbank.org
    Software
    Name
    R
    Version
    4.5.1
    Name
    Stata
    Version
    19.5 MP

    Reproducibility

    Technology environment

    Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
    • OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
    • Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 6226R CPU @ 2.90GHz
    • Memory available: 16.0 GB
    Technology requirements

    Runtime: 4 minutes
    Reproduction instructions

    All data used is forthcoming and not included in the reproducibility package. Once users have access to all the data, to reproduce the findings, a new user needs to:

    1. Adjust the file path in the 0. master do-file and run the code.
    2. Adjust the file path in the 3. htes_figOA4-5.R script and run the code.

    Data

    Datasets
    Name
    Full set of Rozee.pk portal job advertisements
    Note
    Source: Rozee.pk portal. File location: "dta\raw\portal_outofsample_raw.dta".
    Access policy
    Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
    License URL
    https://microdata.worldbank.org/terms-of-use
    Name
    Industry codes
    Note
    Source: Rozee.pk administrative data File location: "dta\raw\industry codes.dta".
    Access policy
    Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
    License URL
    https://microdata.worldbank.org/terms-of-use
    Name
    Education codes
    Note
    Source: Rozee.pk administrative data. File location: "dta\raw\edu codes.dta".
    Access policy
    Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
    License URL
    https://microdata.worldbank.org/terms-of-use
    Name
    Rozee.pk portal job advertisements by sample firms
    Note
    Source: Rozee.pk portal File location: "dta\raw\job_ads.csv"
    Access policy
    Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
    License URL
    https://microdata.worldbank.org/terms-of-use
    Name
    Rozee phone survey of firms
    Note
    Source: Data collected by the authors. File location: "dta\raw\rozee_survey_raw.dta"
    Access policy
    Data is forthcoming in the World Bank Microdata Library.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
    License URL
    https://microdata.worldbank.org/terms-of-use
    Data statement

    All data is not yet publicly available but is expected to be made available through the World Bank Microdata Library in the future.

    Description

    Output
    Type
    Working Paper
    Title
    Wage Subsidies To Promote Female Hiring: Evidence From Pakistan
    Description
    Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)
    Authors
    Author Affiliation Email
    Maurizio Bussolo World Bank mbussolo@worldbank.org
    Jean Lee World Bank jlee20@worldbank.org
    Mahreen Mahmud University of Exeter m.mahmud@exeter.ac.uk
    Nayantara Sarma World Bank nsarma@worldbank.org
    Anaise Williams Johns Hopkins University awill137@jhmi.edu
    Date of production

    2025-12-22

    Scope and coverage

    Geographic locations
    Location Code
    Pakistan PAK

    Disclaimer

    Disclaimer

    The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.

    Access and rights

    License
    Name URI
    Modified BSD3 https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email
    Maurizio Bussolo World Bank mbussolo@worldbank.org
    Reproducibility WBG World Bank reproducibility@worldbank.org

    Information on metadata

    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Affiliation Role
    Reproducibility WBG DECDI World Bank - Development Impact Department Verification and preparation of metadata
    Date of Production

    2025-12-22
    Document version

    1

    Citation

    Citation
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