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The Causes and Consequences of Increased Female Education and Labor Force Participation in Developing Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Rachel Heath
  • Seema Jayachandran

Abstract

Two important recent trends in most developing countries have are the rise in female labor force participation and the closing of gender gaps in school enrollment. This article begins by exploring the causes of the increases in female education, which include greater job availability and policy interventions that have promoted girls’ education. The article then explores the causes of increased female employment, which include a sectoral shift from “brawn-based” industries to services, as well as policies that have increased girls’ education. The article also discusses the effects of these increases in female education and labor supply, particularly for the well-being of women.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Heath & Seema Jayachandran, 2016. "The Causes and Consequences of Increased Female Education and Labor Force Participation in Developing Countries," NBER Working Papers 22766, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22766
    Note: DEV ED LS
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    Cited by:

    1. Achyuta Adhvaryu & Namrata Kala & Anant Nyshadham, 2018. "The Skills to Pay the Bills: Returns to On-the-job Soft Skills Training," NBER Working Papers 24313, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Hasan Jafari & Abolghasem Pourreza & Ahmad Sadeghi & Gisoo Alizadeh & Rahim Khodayari-Zarnaq, 2022. "Identifying contextual effective factors on total fertility rate decline in Iran: a qualitative framework-based study," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3395-3412, October.
    3. García, Carlos J. & González, Wildo D. & Rivera, Tiare, 2024. "Robots at work in emerging developing countries: How bad could it be?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    4. Yang, Juan & Zhang, Lifang & Zhu, Jiusheng, 2025. "Decision-making as cognitive household labor: Higher education expansion, women empowerment, and their intra-household decision-making responsibility," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Anders Kjelsrud & Kristin Vikan Sjurgard, 2022. "Public Work and Private Violence," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(9), pages 1791-1806, September.
    6. Elijah Kipkech Kipchumba & Catherine Porter & Danila Serra & Munshi Sulaiman, 2021. "Infuencing youths' aspirations and gender attitudes through role models: Evidence from Somali schools," Working Papers 20210224-002, Texas A&M University, Department of Economics.
    7. Banerjee, Souvik & Mukhopadhyay, Sankar & Jaiswal, Preeti, 2025. "Motherhood and Labour Market Outcomes: Penalty or Premium?," IZA Discussion Papers 18246, IZA Network @ LISER.
    8. World Bank, "undated". "Reshaping Norms," World Bank Publications - Reports 37121, The World Bank Group.
    9. Herrera-Almanza, Catalina & Sahn, David E. & Villa, Kira M., 2016. "Teen Fertility and Labor Market Segmentation: Evidence from Madagascar," IZA Discussion Papers 10464, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Afridi, Farzana & Gupta, Tanu & Heath, Rachel & Mahajan, Kanika, 2025. "Smart Skilling: Experimental Evidence on Vocational Training Design," IZA Discussion Papers 18272, IZA Network @ LISER.
    11. Abel Brodeur & Marie Christelle Mabeu & Roland Pongou, 2020. "Ancestral Norms, Legal Origins, and Female Empowerment," Working Papers 2002E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    12. Chakravorty, Bhaskar & Bhatiya, Apurav Yash & Imbert, Clément & Lohnert, Maximilian & Panda, Poonam & Rathelot, Roland, 2023. "Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on India’s rural youth: Evidence from a panel survey and an experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    13. Jamelia Harris, 2023. "Opting out of public sector employment: Gender and occupational aspirations among university graduates in Sierra Leone," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(5), pages 897-914, July.
    14. Tara Bedi & Anu Jose & Michael King, 2023. "Mental Accounting, Spousal Control and Intra-Household Communication: Evidence from an Experiment in India," Trinity Economics Papers TEP1323, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    15. Rivera-Garrido, Noelia, 2022. "Can education reduce traditional gender role attitudes?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    16. Bhukta, Rikhia, 2025. "Factories and Fertility: The Impact of Manufacturing Growth on Son Preference," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1664, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    17. Abigail LeBlanc & Stephen Sheppard, 2022. "Women artists: gender, ethnicity, origin and contemporary prices," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(3), pages 439-481, September.
    18. Maurizio Bussolo & Jonah Matthew Rexer & Margaret Triyana, 2024. "Education, Social Norms, and the Marriage Penalty: Evidence from South Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10946, The World Bank.
    19. Yu, Li & Ma, Tiemeng & Wu, Sirong & Lyu, Zhuoyang, 2023. "How does broadband internet affect firm-level labor misallocation: The role of information frictions," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    20. Herrera Catalina & E. Sahn David & M. Villa Kira, 2017. "Working Paper 279 - Teen Fertility and Labor Market Segmentation in Madagascar," Working Paper Series 2396, African Development Bank.
    21. Marisetty, Vijaya Bhaskar & Prasad, Salu, 2022. "On the side effects of mandatory gender diversity laws in corporate boards," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    22. Li, Xinghao & An, Lufeng & Zhang, Dayong & Lee, Chi-Chuan & Yu, Chin-Hsien, 2024. "Energy access and female labor force participation in developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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