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Gender Inequality and Marketisation Hypothesis in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Tendai Zawaira

    (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa)

  • Manoel Bittencourt

    (School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Matthew W. Clance

    (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa)

Abstract

The marketisation hypothesis states that the growth of the services sector reduces gender inequality. Women have a comparative advantage in service jobs and consequently benefit more than men as the services sector grows. In recent years, the African service sector has grown considerably, however, gender inequality on the continent is still relatively high. Using a new dataset on gender inequality and panel data analysis, we study the relationship between service sector shares and gender inequality in 31 sub-Saharan African countries during the 1990-2014 period. Consistent with predictions of the hypothesis, services sector shares significantly reduce gender inequality and the results are robust after the inclusion of a wide range of controls. However, we find that this relationship is non-linear, suggesting that the size of the services sector reaches a threshold before we observe improvements in gender inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Tendai Zawaira & Manoel Bittencourt & Matthew W. Clance, 2018. "Gender Inequality and Marketisation Hypothesis in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 201876, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:pre:wpaper:201876
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender; Marketisation Hypothesis; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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