Female Labor Market Participation and Economic Growth: The Case of Pakistan

Abstract

Female labor force plays a significant role in the economic development of a country. The core objective of this paper is to examine the nexus between female labor force participation rate and Pakistan’s economic growth using time series data for the period 1990-2014. The data was extracted from World Development Indicators database. Augmented-Dickey Fuller (ADF) test was applied to examine the data for unit root. The results show that both the variables--- female labor force participation rate and economic growth---are stationary at first difference i.e. I(1). The error correction model (ECM) and Johansen co-integration tests were used to examine the co-integration relation between the variables. The econometric results conclude that there is long-run and a U-shaped link between economic growth and women labor force participation rate of Pakistan. The results conclude that lower female labor force participation rate leads to lower economic growth in Pakistan. This paper has important policy implications, suggests that policies intend to remove such barriers could help to enhance the Pakistan’s economic growth.