Women Workers in India : Why So Few Among So Many?
TL;DR: This paper examined the determinants of female labor force participation in India and found that a number of policy initiatives can help boost female economic participation in the states of India, including increased labor market flexibility, investment in infrastructure, and enhanced social spending.
Abstract: This paper examines the determinants of female labor force participation in India, against the backdrop of India having one of the lowest participation rates for women among peer countries. Using extensive Indian household survey data, we model the labor force participation choices of women, conditional on demographic characteristics and education, as well as looking at the influence of state-level labor market flexibility and other state policies. Our main finding is that a number of policy initiatives can help boost female economic participation in the states of India, including increased labor market flexibility, investment in infrastructure, and enhanced social spending.
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TL;DR: The authors survey the literature that analyses the relationship between gender inequality and economic growth from a macroeconomic perspective and argue that existing theories provide a wide range of mechanisms through which these two variables may affect each other but also that more work needs to be carried out to obtain quantitative predictions out of these models.
Abstract: The link between gender inequality and economic growth is a topic that is of growing interest, both in the academic literature and the policy arena. In this paper, we survey the literature that analyses this relationship from a macroeconomic perspective. We argue that that the existing theories provide a wide range of mechanisms through which these two variables may affect each other but also that more work needs to be carried out to obtain quantitative predictions out of these models. In the empirical arena, we note the lack of connection between most studies and the existing theories described earlier. In both cases, we propose approaches to alleviate these problems. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
113 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors use parametric and semi-parametric decomposition techniques to show that changes in individual and household attributes fully account for the fall in women's labor force participation rate in 1987-1999 and account for half of the decline in this rate in 1999-2009.
Abstract: Unlike the global trend, India has witnessed a secular decline in women's employment rates over the past few decades. We use parametric and semi-parametric decomposition techniques to show that changes in individual and household attributes fully account for the fall in women's labor force participation rate in 1987-1999 and account for half of the decline in this rate in 1999-2009. Our findings underscore increasing education levels amongst rural married women and the men in their households as the most prominent attributes contributing to this decline. We provide suggestive evidence that a rise in more educated women's returns to home production, relative to their returns in the labor market, may have adversely affected female labor force participation rates in India.
75 citations
22 Oct 2015
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed gender inequality by using and extending the United Nation's Gender Inequality Index (GII) to cover two decades for almost 140 countries and found that an increase in the GII from perfect gender equality to perfect inequality is associated with an almost 10 points higher net Gini coefficient.
Abstract: This study shows empirically that gender inequality and income inequality are strongly interlinked, even after controlling for standard drivers of income inequality. The study analyzes gender inequality by using and extending the United Nationâs Gender Inequality Index (GII) to cover two decades for almost 140 countries,. The main finding is that an increase in the GII from perfect gender equality to perfect inequality is associated with an almost 10 points higher net Gini coefficient. For advanced countries, with higher gender equity in opportunities, income inequality arises mainly through gender gaps in economic participation. For emerging market and developing countries, inequality of opportunity, in particular in education and health, appear to pose larger obstacles to income equality.
68 citations
TL;DR: Analysis of survey data collected from rural young married women in Maharashtra suggests that women's joint control over husband's income and her financial inclusion as indicated by bank ownership appear to reduce risk for IPV, whereas her income generation or control over her own income do not.
36 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the magnitude and factors that influence the unpaid domestic work status of women in India and reveal that the intensity to be engaged in domestic work is high among women who are less educated and belong to the lower wealth quintile in society.
Abstract: Unpaid domestic work is an important aspect of productive activities and an indispensable factor that contributes to the well-being of household and economy. However, the predominance of women in domestic work and keeping them out of ‘economic activities’ put unpaid domestic work under the shadow of invisibility, outside the production boundaries, and further outside the purview of economic policy. The nature of women’s work has endured substantial alterations during the neo-liberal paradigm of Indian economy, and women’s participation in the labor force and workforce has declined significantly. To understand the status of women in the labor market, it is necessary to comprehend the nature of their unpaid work, which has significant impact on their work participation rate in the economy. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the magnitude and factors that influence the unpaid domestic work status of women in India. The findings of this study reveal that the intensity to be engaged in domestic work is high among women who are less educated and belong to the lower wealth quintile in society. Women are engaged in unpaid domestic work because of three factors—Constraints (social and religious), Choices (failure of market and states to provide essential provisioning), and Career (low opportunity cost of unpaid work in the market). Therefore, a holistical approach within the broader context of household, state, market, and society through a macro, meso, and micro interconnects has to be considered for changing women’s status in the economy.
30 citations
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