ABSTRACT
The relationship between female labour force participation (FLFP) and economic development is far more complex than it is often described in academic literature. Most studies have relied on income as the only proxy for development. In this paper, we re-examine this relationship from a multidimensional perspective.
A principal component analysis method was used in order to cluster the information contained in multiple development indicators. The analysed data include the following dimensions: access to basic services, environment, inequality, poverty, education, economic structure, health, income and FLFP.
The results provide evidence about the existence of a U-shaped relationship between development and FLFP. Least and most developed countries have the highest levels of FLFP and, conversely, countries with intermediate levels of development have the lowest. We observed that MENA and South Asian countries present a lower FLFP in relation to what is expected for their level of development. Our estimates suggest that FLFP is also affected by social, cultural and legal norms. Thus, greater freedom to travel or work as well as the existence of laws that criminalize workplace harassment promote FLFP. This suggests that differences in FLFP are explained by economics and non-economic factors and policy makers should explicitly consider this multidimensionality.
Annex
Table A.1: KMO sample adequacy test
Table A.2: Bartlett’s sphericity test
Table A.3: List of countries and component scores (Ascending order according to principal component 1)
Table A.4: variables’ factor loadings
Table A.5: Principal components’ eigenvalues and explained variance.
Table A.6: variables’ component loadings
Table A.7: Principal components regression in a panel setting
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Alicia Quintana, Mauricio Gallardo Altamirano and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Fernando Antonio Ignacio González
Fernando Antonio Ignacio González, Doctoral Fellow at Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur (UNS-CONICET) and Teaching Assistant at Facultad de Ciencias Económicas (UNaM). San Andrés 800, Bahía Blanca-Argentina. email: [email protected]
Juan Marcelo Virdis
Juan Marcelo Virdis Doctoral Fellow at Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur (UNS-CONICET). San Andrés 800, Bahía Blanca-Argentina