Scholarlink

<p>This paper investigates how female labour force participation (FLFP) is influenced by urbanisation, dependency ratio, working hours, and maternal mortality ratio (MMR) across countries with varying levels of Human Development Index (HDI). This study, driven by persistent global disparities in FLFP rates and their implications for gender equality and economic growth, seeks to explore the varied influences on FLFP and deliver policy-relevant insights. The study utilises a fixed-effect panel threshold model to analyse data from 51 countries over 34&#xa0;years, identifying the HDI as a threshold variable that divides the countries into two distinct regimes, enabling nonlinear analysis. Results reveal that urbanisation reduces FLFP in countries below the threshold and has a positive effect in those above it. The dependency ratio inversely affects FLFP in countries above the threshold, likely due to the income effect, and positively affects it in countries below the threshold, possibly due to economic necessity. Because of concerns about work–life balance, long working hours discourage FLFP in both regimes. Maternal mortality ratio negatively impacts FLFP predominantly in countries below the threshold, highlighting health-related barriers to women’s economic participation. Based on these findings, it is argued that improving the healthcare system and flexible working hours are critical to increasing FLFP across countries, irrespective of HDI. On the other hand, policies that ensure gender-inclusive employment opportunities in countries below the HDI threshold and maintain work–life balance by reducing or sharing dependency burdens may help increase FLFP in countries above the HDI threshold.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Analysing Female Labour Force Participation in Different HDI Contexts: A Fixed-Effect Panel Threshold Approach

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月1日

查看全文
  • Rajesh Palia,
  • Kishan Gari

摘要

This paper investigates how female labour force participation (FLFP) is influenced by urbanisation, dependency ratio, working hours, and maternal mortality ratio (MMR) across countries with varying levels of Human Development Index (HDI). This study, driven by persistent global disparities in FLFP rates and their implications for gender equality and economic growth, seeks to explore the varied influences on FLFP and deliver policy-relevant insights. The study utilises a fixed-effect panel threshold model to analyse data from 51 countries over 34 years, identifying the HDI as a threshold variable that divides the countries into two distinct regimes, enabling nonlinear analysis. Results reveal that urbanisation reduces FLFP in countries below the threshold and has a positive effect in those above it. The dependency ratio inversely affects FLFP in countries above the threshold, likely due to the income effect, and positively affects it in countries below the threshold, possibly due to economic necessity. Because of concerns about work–life balance, long working hours discourage FLFP in both regimes. Maternal mortality ratio negatively impacts FLFP predominantly in countries below the threshold, highlighting health-related barriers to women’s economic participation. Based on these findings, it is argued that improving the healthcare system and flexible working hours are critical to increasing FLFP across countries, irrespective of HDI. On the other hand, policies that ensure gender-inclusive employment opportunities in countries below the HDI threshold and maintain work–life balance by reducing or sharing dependency burdens may help increase FLFP in countries above the HDI threshold.