How Does Gender Inequality in Education and Labor Force Participation Affect Afghanistan's Economic Growth?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2478/rsep-2025-0009Keywords:
Gender inequality, Labor force participation, Education, Economic growth, AfghanistanAbstract
This study examines the effect of gender inequality in education and labor force participation on Afghanistan’s economic growth. Using time-series data from 2000 to 2022 and applying the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, the results reveal that gender inequality in both employment and education significantly hinders economic growth. Particularly, a 1% increase in gender inequality in education leads to a 9.039% decline in economic growth, while a similar increase in labor force participation inequality results in a 16.67% reduction. These findings highlight the essential role of women’s full participation in education and the workforce as a key driver of economic growth. Policy recommendations emphasize expanding educational opportunities through scholarships and distance learning programs for girls and women, creating employment initiatives to enhance women’s participation in the labor market, and fostering national and international collaboration to drive political and structural reforms aimed at restoring gender equality. The study ultimately concludes that addressing gender inequality is not only a matter of human rights but also an economic necessity for Afghanistan’s long-term stability and development. Ensuring equal access to education and employment for women is imperative for fostering inclusive economic growth and breaking the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment.
References
Andaish, Mr. Q., & Assadi, Mr. S. (2024). A study on the effectiveness of foreign aid on human development of Afghanistan. Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship, 3(1), 100056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stae.2023.100056
Baliamoune-Lutz, M. (2007). Globalisation and Gender Inequality: Is Africa Different? Journal of African Economies, 16(2), 301–348. https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejl037
Barro, R. J., & Lee, J.-W. (1994). Sources of economic growth. Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, 40, 1–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-2231(94)90002-7
Barro, R. J., & Sala-i-Martin, X. (2004). Economic growth (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Benavot, A. (1989). Education, Gender, and Economic Development: A Cross-National Study. Sociology of Education, 62, 14. https://doi.org/10.2307/2112821
Blackden, M., Canagarajah, S., Klasen, S., & Lawson, D. (2007). Gender and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Issues and Evidence. In G. Mavrotas & A. Shorrocks (Eds.), Advancing Development: Core Themes in Global Economics (pp. 349–370). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230801462_19
Blankenship, J., & Kubicek, P. (2018). Democratization and Gender Equality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Journal of the Middle East and Africa, 9(1), 27–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2018.1449458
Blecker, R. A., & Seguino, S. (2002). Macroeconomic Effects of Reducing Gender Wage Inequality in an Export-Oriented, Semi-Industrialized Economy. Review of Development Economics, 6(1), 103–119. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9361.00144
Bourdon, J., Frölich, M., Grimm, M., Klasen, S., Klonner, S., Klump, R., et al. (2006). Pro-poor Growth: Policy and Evidence. (1st ed., Vol. 314). Duncker & Humblot GmbH. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1q6bb4d. Accessed 3 February 2025
Brummet ’08, Q. (2008). The Effect of Gender Inequality on Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study. The Park Place Economist, 16(1). https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/parkplace/vol16/iss1/9
Chaudhry, I. S. (2007). Gender Inequality in Education and Economic Growth: Case Study of Pakistan. Pakistan Horizon, 60(4,), 81–91. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41500094
Dollar, D., & Gatti, R. (1999). Gender Inequality, Income, and Growth: Are Good Times Good for Women?
Esen, Ö., & Seren, G. Y. (2021). The impact of gender inequality in education and employment on economic performance in Turkey : evidence from a cointegration approach. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 41(4).
Galor, O., & Weil, D. N. (1996). The Gender Gap, Fertility, and Growth. The American Economic Review, 86(3), 374–387. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2118202. Accessed 3 February 2025
Global Gender Gap Report 2023. (n.d.). World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/. Accessed 31 January 2025
Global Sustainable Development Report, 2015 edition (Report). (2015). https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/global-sustainable-development-report-2015-edition.html. Accessed 23 January 2025
Hill, M. A., & King, E. (1995). Women’s education and economic well-being. Feminist Economics, 1(2), 21–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/714042230
Igboanugo, I. N., & Iwegbu, O. (2020). Effects of gender inequality on education and economic growth in Nigeria. https://ir.unilag.edu.ng/handle/123456789/9521. Accessed 4 February 2025
Igbuzor, O. (n.d.). Challenging Patriarchy and Promoting Women. https://www.gamji.com/article3000/NEWS3767.htm. Accessed 27 January 2025
Indangasi, J. N., Oleche, M. O., & Olunga, C. O. (2016). Economic Growth and Gender Inequalities in Labor Force Participation and Education in Kenya. International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 5(4), Pages 32-52. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJAREMS/v5-i4/2273
Karoui, K., & Feki, R. (2018a). The impacts of gender inequality in education on economic growth in Tunisia: an empirical analysis. Quality & Quantity, 52(3), 1265–1273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0518-3
Karoui, K., & Feki, R. (2018b). The Effect of Gender Inequality on Economic Development: Case of African Countries. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 9(1), 294–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-015-0341-9
King, E. M., Klasen, S., & Porter, M. (2008). Copenhagen Consensus 2008 Challenge Paper Women and Development.
King, E., & Mason, A. (2001). Engendering Development: Through Gender Equality in Rights, Resources, and Voice. The World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/0-1952-1596-6
Klasen, S. (2000). Does Gender Inequality Reduce Growth and Development? Evidence from Cross-Country Regressions. doc-type:workingPaper. https://doi.org/10.5282/ubm/epub.1602
Klasen, S. (2002). Low Schooling for Girls, Slower Growth for All? Cross‐Country Evidence on the Effect of Gender Inequality in Education on Economic Development. The World Bank Economic Review, 16(3), 345–373. https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhf004
Klasen, S., & Lamanna, F. (2009). The Impact of Gender Inequality in Education and Employment on Economic Growth: New Evidence for a Panel of Countries. Feminist Economics, 15(3), 91–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700902893106
Klasen, S., & Minasyan, A. (2017). Gender Inequality and Growth in Europe. Intereconomics, 52(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10272-017-0637-z
Knowles, S., Lorgelly, P. K., & Owen, P. D. (2002). Are educational gender gaps a brake on economic development? Some cross‐country empirical evidence. Oxford Economic Papers, 54(1), 118–149. https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/54.1.118
Koengkan, M., Fuinhas, J. A., Belucio, M., Kazemzadeh, E., Poveda, Y. E. M., Alavijeh, N. K., & Santiago, R. (2022). The Consequences of Gender Inequality on Latin America’s Economic Growth: Macroeconomic Evidence. Sexes, 3(3), 396–412. https://doi.org/10.3390/sexes3030030
Mishra, P. K., Mishra, S. K., & Sarangi, M. K. (2020). Do Women’s Advancement and Gender Parity Promote Economic Growth? Evidence from 30 Asian Countries. Millennial Asia, 11(1), 5–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0976399619900603
Morrison, A., Raju, D., & Sinha, N. (2007). Gender equality, poverty and economic growth (Policy Research Working Paper Series No. 4349). The World Bank. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wbkwbrwps/4349.htm. Accessed 3 February 2025
Onogwu, D. (2021). Gender Inequality and Economic Development: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. MPRA Paper. https://ideas.repec.org//p/pra/mprapa/111209.html. Accessed 27 January 2025
Perotti, R. (1996). Growth, income distribution, and democracy: What the data say. Journal of Economic Growth, 1(2), 149–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138861
Pesaran, M. H., Shin, Y., & Smith, R. J. (2001). Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 16(3), 289–326. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.616
Pesaran, M. H., & Smith, R. (1995). Estimating long-run relationships from dynamic heterogeneous panels. Journal of Econometrics, 68(1), 79–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4076(94)01644-F
Ruiters, M., & Charteris, A. (2020). Gender equality in labour force participation, economic growth and development in South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 37(6), 997–1011. https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2020.1772042
Seguino, S. (2000a). Gender Inequality and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis. World Development, 28(7), 1211–1230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(00)00018-8
Seguino, S. (2000b). Accounting for Gender in Asian Economic Growth. Feminist Economics, 6(3), 27–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/135457000750020128
Sen, A. (2001, October 26). Amartya Sen calls for a new action plan to bridge the social divide and empower women across South Asia. Frontline. https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/many-faces-of-gender-inequality/article64924736.ece. Accessed 10 February 2025
Sen, A. K. (1989). Development as capability expansion /: Amartya Sen. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/75128. Accessed 29 January 2025
Sinha, D. (2022, June 2). HOW GENDER INEQUALITY IN EDUCATION AFFECTS ECONOMIC GROWTH IN INDIA: A COINTEGRATION ANALYSIS.
van Staveren, I. (2011). From Gender as Exogenous to Gender as Endogenous in the New Economics. In P. Arestis & M. Sawyer (Eds.), New Economics as Mainstream Economics (pp. 116–153). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307681_4
WFP Afghanistan: Situation Report, December 2024 - Afghanistan | ReliefWeb. (2025, January 10). https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/wfp-afghanistan-situation-report-december-2024. Accessed 6 February 2025
Yumusak, I. G., Bilen, M., & Ates, H. (2013). The Impacts of Gender Inequality in Education on Economic Growth in Turkey. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 103, 1093–1103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.437
