Title: Breaking Barriers or Deepening Divides? Trade Liberalization and Gender Performance Gap in Vietnamese Enterprises

Speaker: Gong Kaiji, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Abstract: How does trade liberalization affect gender gaps in business performance? Combining Vietnamese administrative firm and household data, we document that reductions in Vietnam’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariffs following its 2007 WTO accession result in enlarged performance gaps: relative to male-led firms, female-led firms exhibit lower revenue, employment, and total factor productivity (TFP) growth, alongside a sharper drop in the share of female workers. This is likely driven by reduced female labor participation in the manufacturing sector, which erodes female-led firms’ comparative advantage in employing women. Our study provides new insights into how gender norms can generate unequal business outcomes from trade liberalization in developing economies.

Date & time: 22 May 2026, 10:00

Venue: B336, Zhixin Building, Central Campus, Shandong University