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Economic Development and Female Labour Force Participation: The Case of European Union Countries

Author

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  • Amaia Altuzarra

    (Faculty of Economic and Business, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Av. Lehendakari Agirre, 83, 48015 Bilbao, Spain)

  • Catalina Gálvez-Gálvez

    (Faculty of Economic and Business, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Av. Lehendakari Agirre, 83, 48015 Bilbao, Spain)

  • Ana González-Flores

    (Faculty of Economic and Business, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Av. Lehendakari Agirre, 83, 48015 Bilbao, Spain)

Abstract

In this paper, we studied the relationship between female labour force participation and economic development in the 28 countries of the European Union during the period 1990–2016. The analysis was carried out from two different viewpoints: first, we studied all the countries of the EU-28, and second, the evidence was disaggregated into two groups of countries: old (EU-15) and new (EU-13) member estates. The data used came from the World Bank open data repository and Eurostat. The methodology used consisted of the estimation of static (Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Fixed Effects (FE)) and dynamic (generalized moments model—GMM) models. Results for all European countries (EU-28) were consistent with the hypothesis which suggests the existence of a U-shaped relationship between female labour force participation and economic development. When the sample was broken down into groups, we found evidence that confirms the feminization hypothesis for the new countries of the EU, but not for the old ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Amaia Altuzarra & Catalina Gálvez-Gálvez & Ana González-Flores, 2019. "Economic Development and Female Labour Force Participation: The Case of European Union Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:7:p:1962-:d:219388
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    5. Chimere O. Iheonu & Ozoemena S. Nwodo & Uchechi S. Anaduaka & Ugochinyere Ekpo, 2020. "Inequality and Female Labour Force Participation in West Africa," Working Papers 20/076, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
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    7. Chimere O. Iheonu & Ozoemena S. Nwodo & Uchechi S. Anaduaka & Ugochinyere Ekpo, 2020. "Inequality and Female Labour Force Participation in West Africa," Working Papers of The Association for Promoting Women in Research and Development in Africa (ASPROWORDA). 20/008, The Association for Promoting Women in Research and Development in Africa (ASPROWORDA).
    8. Chimere O. Iheonu & Ozoemena S. Nwodo & Uchechi S. Anaduaka & Ugochinyere Ekpo, 2020. "Inequality and Female Labour Force Participation in West Africa," Research Africa Network Working Papers 20/076, Research Africa Network (RAN).
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