Does%20gender%20equality%20matter%20for%20shared%20growth?

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Does gender equality matter for shared growth?

• Andrew Morrison
• PRMGE
• April 25, 2007

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• Gender equality is NOT equality in outcomes
• Refers to equality in rights, resources and
  voicePRR 2001)
• Intrinsic and instrumental value

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Outline

• Theoretical framework why might we expect
  gender equality to promote shared growth?
• Macro evidence for impacts on growth and poverty
  reduction
• Microfoundations resource allocation and
  productivity impacts in key markets
• Human capital via intergenerational impacts

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(No Transcript)
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Macro evidence gender equality and poverty
reduction
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Macro evidence gender equality and economic
growth
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• Gender equality in rights
• Expected to ? productivity
• Strong evidence on property rights generally
• But no research on impacts of improving womens
  property rights on productivity at the macro level

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• Gender equality in voice
• No empirical evidence that increased womens
  political participation affects growthnor is
  there any clear theoretical rationale as to why
  this should be the case.
• Mixed evidence about impact of political
  participation on allocation of public expenditure

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• Gender equality in resources (opportunity)
• Much attention to equality in educational access
• Cross country regressions based on augmented
  Solow model (Klasen, Dollar and Gatti, others)
• Striking results gender gaps account for more
  than 1/3 of the slower growth in output in Africa
  than in East Asia
• BUT serious issues with cross country growth
  regressions
• Atheoretical additions to Solow model
• Endogeneity issues gender equality affects
  growth, but growth also affects gender equality
• Beyond education wage gaps and occupational
  segregation

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Microfoundations access to credit

• Differential treatment in credit market might
  result from
• Gender differences in characteristics relevant
  for loan qualification
• Prejudicial tastes by lenders
• Statistical discrimination
• Evidence on loan denial rate/interest rates
• OECD evidence shows little effect of gender after
  accounting for covariates
• Little evidence from developing countries, but it
  supports conclusion from OECD studies

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• Issue seems to be one of differential application
  rates
• Is non-participation due to women not satisfying
  eligibility criteria?
• Or to women opting out because of perceived
  discrimination?
• Or to women having no need for credit?

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Microfoundations access to land

• Womens land rights are frequently circumscribed
  in practice even if not in principle.
• Effect of land reform and titling programs
  potential to strengthen womens rights, but
  generally not in practice
• Gender differentials in farm productivity may be
  due to differential tenure security, but also may
  result from other factors

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Microfoundations labor force participation
Source Key Indicators of the Labor Market, 4th
edition
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• Globally, female LFPRs have not changed much in
  last 10 years
• But substantial increases in LAC and MENA, and
  sharp declines in ECA and East Asia

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Barriers to female LFP

• Education levels
• Time burden of domestic responsibilities
• Wage gaps (dynamic disincentive)
• Discrimination in other markets (land, credit)
• Culture

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Human capital via intergenerational impacts

• First generation increased control over
  resources by mothers results in more spending on
  childrens health and education
• Second generation impact of pensions, CCTs and
  microcredit

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Summing up

• Only weak evidence that gender equality matters
  for macro growth or poverty alleviation.
• Next generation work should focus on
  country-level analytics
• Growth distribution dynamics counter-factual
  simulations based on alternative specifications
  for sex-disaggregated earnings, education,
  occupational choice, fertility, etc.
• Gender-disaggregated MAMS (Maquette for MDG
  Simulations) modeling that incorporates existing
  MDG3 indicators and complementary indicators
  developed

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• Evidence on gender equalitys impact on
  productivity (microfoundations of growth) is
  suggestive but not conclusive
• Much stronger evidence that gender equality
  matters for household poverty reduction