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Gender Discrimination and Growth: Theory and Evidence from India

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Berta Esteve-Volart

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Abstract

Gender inequality is an acute and persistent problem, especially in developing countries. This paper argues that gender discrimination is an inefficient practice. We model gender discrimination as the complete exclusion of females from the labor market or as the exclusion of females from managerial positions. The distortions in the allocation of talent between managerial and unskilled positions, and in human capital investment, are analyzed. It is found that both types of discrimination lower economic growth; and that the former also implies a reduction in per capita GDP, while the latter distorts the allocation of talent. Both types of discrimination imply lower female-to-male schooling ratios. We discuss the sustainability of social norms or stigma that can generate discrimination in the form described in this paper. We present evidence based on panel-data regressions across Indian states over 1961-1991 that is consistent with the model¿s predictions.

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Paper provided by Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE in its series STICERD - Development Economics Papers with number 42.

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Date of creation: Jan 2004
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Handle: RePEc:cep:stidep:42

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Keywords: Growth; gender discrimination; labor market; allocation of talent; India.;

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  3. Timothy Besley & Robin Burgess, 2002. "The Political Economy Of Government Responsiveness: Theory And Evidence From India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(4), pages 1415-1451, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Duncan Thomas, 1993. "The Distribution of Income and Expenditure within the Household," Annales d'Economie et de Statistique, ADRES, issue 29, pages 07, Janvier-M. [Downloadable!]
  5. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert A, 1993. "Separate Spheres Bargaining and the Marriage Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(6), pages 988-1010, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Blau, Francine D. & Kahn, Lawrence M., 1999. "Analyzing the gender pay gap," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 625-646. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2002. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-in-Differences Estimates?," NBER Working Papers 8841, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Pritchett, Lant & Summers, Lawrence H., 1993. "Wealthier is healthier," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1150, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  9. Seguino, Stephanie, 2000. "Gender Inequality and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 1211-1230, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. William C. Horrace & Ronald L. Oaxaca, 2001. "Inter-industry wage differentials and the gender wage gap: An identification problem," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 54(3), pages 611-618, April.
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  14. Thomas, D., 1992. "The Distribution of Income and Expenditure within the Household," Papers 669, Yale - Economic Growth Center.
  15. Alan B. Krueger & Mikael Lindahl, 2001. "Education for Growth: Why and for Whom?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1101-1136, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  16. Francois, Patrick, 1998. "Gender discrimination without gender difference: theory and policy responses," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 1-32, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Forsythe, Nancy & Korzeniewicz, Roberto Patricio & Durrant, Valerie, 2000. "Gender Inequalities and Economic Growth: A Longitudinal Evaluation," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(3), pages 573-617, April.
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  1. Thomas Schober & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2009. "Gender Wage Inequality and Economic Growth: Is there Really a Puzzle?," Economics working papers 2009-08, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Cavalcanti, Tiago & Tavares, José, 2007. "The Output Cost of Gender Discrimination: A Model-Based Macroeconomic Estimate," CEPR Discussion Papers 6477, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. sivakumar, marimuthu, 2008. "Gender Discrimination and Women's Development in India," MPRA Paper 10950, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Stephan Klasen, 2006. "Pro-Poor Growth and Gender Inequality," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 151, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  5. Majumder, Rajarshi, 2007. "Earning Differentials Across Social Groups: Evidences from India," MPRA Paper 12811, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  6. Petia Topalova, 2008. "India: Is the Rising Tide Lifting All Boats?," IMF Working Papers 08/54, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  7. Stephan Klasen & Francesca Lamanna, 2008. "The Impact of Gender Inequality in Education and Employment on Economic Growth in Developing Countries: Updates and Extensions," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 175, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  8. Blackden, Mark & Canagarajah, Sudharshan & Klasen, Stephan & Lawson, David, 2006. "Gender and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Issues and Evidence," Working Papers RP2006/37, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER). [Downloadable!]
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