Enhancing women’s engagement in economic activities through information and communication technology deployment: evidence from Central–Eastern European countries

Abstract

This study takes a macro perspective to examine the associations between the economic deployment of information and communication technology (ICT), women’s labor market participation, and economic growth in Central–Eastern European countries between 1990 and 2017. We use data extracted from World Bank Development Indicators, World Development Reports, and the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database. Our methodological framework combines time trends, graphical non-parametric analysis, and panel vector-autoregressive models. The findings reveal significant relationships between ICT and women’s economic activity. Panel vector-auto-regression model estimates and Granger causality tests indicate causal relationships between ICT, economic growth, and female youth employment but not between the remaining pairs of variables.

Keywords:

• Central–Eastern Europe
• economic growth
• engagement
• ICT
• information and communication technology
• women

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• O30
• O40

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The global female labor force participation rate (age group 15+) declined from 51.3% in 1998 to 48.5% in 2018 despite strong growth in emerging and developing countries. Projections suggest that female labor force participation rates will continue to fall over the coming decade or so, reaching a low of 45.9% in 2030 (ILO modeled estimates; http://www.ilo.org/ilostat [accessed February 2019]).

2 The impulse–response function (IRF) and stability condition of the estimated panels and forecast-error variance decomposition results are not reported but are available on request.

3 Authors’ calculations.

4 Data for Moldova and Ukraine are not available.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Centre in Poland under Grant [no. 2015/19/B/HS4/03220].

Notes on contributors

Ewa Lechman

Ewa Lechman, professor of Economics, since 2002 working at Faculty of Management and Economics Gdańsk University of Technology. Since 2017 – Vice-Dean for Development and Ph.D. Programme Director. Her extensive research interests concentrate on economic development, ICT and technological progress, and its role in reshaping social and economic systems and various aspects of poverty and economics in developing countries. In 2013, Emerald Literati Network Award for Excellence winner. Serves as permanent referee in Policy & Internet (Oxford University Press), Technological Forecasting and Social Change (Elsevier), World Development (Elsevier), Technology in Society (Elsevier), Journal of Applied Research and Technology (Elsevier), Social Indicators Research (SpringerNature), Journal of Business Cycle Research (SpringerNature), Journal of Development Studies (Taylor&Francis), NETNOMICS (SpringerNature), Neural Computing and Applications (SpringerNature), Eurasian Economic Review (SpringerNature), at alia. In 2017–2019, nominated by Elsevier as outstanding reviewer. Currently co-ordinates and/or is the main investigator in 3 research grants on ICT diffusion trajectories and technological take-off (National Science Centre), Exchange-traded funds development (National Science Centre) and technological development for financial markets (CERGE-GDN).

Magdalena Popowska

Magdalena Popowska, researcher and lecturer of Organization Science and Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Management and Economics of Gdansk University of Technology. For many years in charge of internationalization processes, between 2008 and 2016 as a Vice-Dean for International and Public Affairs, and today as a Dean Proxy for International Cooperation. Scholar of NEOMA Business School (France) within her PhD comparative study on Polish and French SMEs. Visiting scholar at many European universities: University of Florence, Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, La Rochelle Business School. Today, her research is mainly focused on corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, and entrepreneurship education. Participating in several research EU projects (TEMPUS, INTERREG, Erasmus+).