Why Veil? Religious Headscarves and the Economic Role of Women

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Shofia, Naila Maya
• 署名单位: National University of Singapore
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6527
• DOI: 10.1093/restud/rdag093
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: labor-force participation; CONFLICT; IDENTITY; income; jobs

摘要

We show that the emergence of new economic opportunities that draw women away from their traditional domestic roles has significantly influenced the adoption of religious veiling. We measure the prevalence of veiling among young women across Indonesia's districts for more than two decades by hand-coding around a quarter million photographs attached to Indonesia's public high school registers. To establish causality, we exploit exogenous variation generated by international demand for Indonesia's products, interacted with the gender and sectoral composition of local industries. Districts exposed to stronger positive economic shocks-and thus greater economic opportunities for women-exhibit higher rates of veiling adoption. Our findings suggest that veiling facilitates young women's participation in formal labour markets while safeguarding their personal and social image in society.