Falling Female Labour Force Participation: An Analysis of Selected Countries

Human capital theories suggest that with more education, women acquire better skills and their labour force participation rate rises leading to the rise in their savings. However, it has been observed that the female LFPR is reducing at an alarming rate for both developed and developing countries with the rise in education level. It has been observed that other factors such as fertility rate, household income growth in gross domestic product, and life expectancy rate. The governance indicators like regulatory control, voice and accountability, political instability, government effectiveness, rule of law and control of corruption, also plays an important role in affecting the female LFPR. The study attempts a panel data regression on some selected countries and tries to analyse the factors determining the labour force participation rates of females. It shows that different non-educational factors have a strong influence over the declining female LFPR and validates the paradox where education is negatively related to female LFPR. Factors other than education such as regulatory quality, government efficiency, wage and salary, and life expectancy have a significant impact on the female LFPR. The study also gives recommendation to the aforementioned problems and brings up with policies which could be taken up to boost the female LFPR.