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Role of institutional quality on women's empowerment—A case of highly gender unequal Asian countries

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  • Hafsa Qaiser
  • Hafeez ur Rehman
  • Noman Arshed

Abstract

Equal access to rights and opportunities for women and men is one of the indicators of women's empowerment. Classical economic growth models ignored gender differences in the labor force, but the literature now acknowledges the merits of equal participation of both genders in economic activities. This study investigates the determinants of gender equality as an instrument of women's empowerment. This study focused on Asian countries with a high gender gap in several domains. This lag in women's empowerment is hypothesized to be due to low‐quality institutions. The data for this investigation is compiled from World Development Indicators, Global Gender Gap reports, the Polity IV project, World Governance Indicators, and Human Development Reports. The Panel Feasible Generalized Least Squares results show that female unemployment and good governance tend to increase the gender gap in Asian countries, while Human Development Index, trade openness and democracy reduce the gender gap. This quantitative assessment is instrumental for policymakers in socially empowering women on equal terms with men in Asia. 女性和男性对权利和机会的平等获取可能表明女性赋权的增加。古典经济增长模型忽视了劳动力中的性别差异，不过，目前的文献承认男女平等参与经济活动所带来的好处。本研究调查了性别平等的决定因素，以此作为女性赋权的工具。本研究聚焦于在多方面存在巨大性别差距的亚洲国家。预期认为，女性赋权的滞后是由于低质量的制度。本次调查的数据来自世界发展指标、全球性别差距报告、政体第四(Polity IV)项目、世界治理指标以及人类发展报告。使用可行广义最小二乘法的面板结果表明，女性失业和治理往往会增加亚洲国家的性别差距，而人类发展指数、贸易开放和民主会缩小性别差距。本定量评估有助于决策者对女性进行社会赋权，使其获得与亚洲男性平等的机会。 La igualdad de acceso a los derechos y oportunidades para mujeres y hombres puede definir un aumento en el empoderamiento de las mujeres. Los modelos clásicos de crecimiento económico ignoraron las diferencias de género en la fuerza laboral, pero ahora la literatura reconoce los méritos de la participación equitativa de ambos géneros en las actividades económicas. Este estudio investiga los determinantes de la igualdad de género como instrumento de empoderamiento de las mujeres. Este estudio se centró en los países asiáticos con una gran brecha de género en varias cuentas. Se espera que este retraso en el empoderamiento de las mujeres se deba a instituciones de baja calidad. Los datos para esta investigación se compilan a partir de los Indicadores de Desarrollo Mundial, los informes de Brecha Global de Género, el proyecto Polity IV, los Indicadores de Gobernanza Mundial y los Informes de Desarrollo Humano. Los resultados del Panel de mínimos cuadrados generalizados factibles muestran que el desempleo femenino y la gobernabilidad tienden a aumentar la brecha de género en los países asiáticos, mientras que el IDH, la apertura comercial y la democracia reducen la brecha de género. Esta evaluación cuantitativa es fundamental para que los formuladores de políticas empoderen socialmente a las mujeres en igualdad de condiciones con los hombres en Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Hafsa Qaiser & Hafeez ur Rehman & Noman Arshed, 2023. "Role of institutional quality on women's empowerment—A case of highly gender unequal Asian countries," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 48-75, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:povpop:v:15:y:2023:i:1:p:48-75
    DOI: 10.1002/pop4.363
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