Paper Title
Patriarchy And Economic Growth In The Middle East And North Africa

Abstract
This paper argues that the culture of patriarchy is one of the reasons the Middle East and North African region is not growing economically as fast as other developing regions. Although women have been on average more educated than earlier generations of women in the region, and women now have fewer children, they do not participate in the labor market in large numbers as women do in other developing regions. In fact, the region has the lowest rate of female labor force participation in the world. This paper argues that since patriarchy in MENA defines women as caregivers and homemakers and defines the private sphere as the only appropriate space for women, patriarchy creates barriers for women�s access to the labor market. By shrinking the pool of potential workers, patriarchy systematically decreases the potential economic growth in the region, not only in the short run, but also in the long run. Keywords: Culture, Economic Growth, Women, Female Labor Force Participation. Middle East and North Africa, Patriarchy.