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The effect of fertility and education on female labour force participation in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Baah-Boateng, William
  • Frempong, Richard
  • Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward

Abstract

This study examines the forces behind female labour force participation (flfP) in Ghana by focusing on the role played by fertility and education, for both urban and rural dwellers. Applying a logistic regression to the fifth round of the Ghana Living standards survey (Glss 5) we established that women with basic and tertiary education have a higher propensity of participation compared with those with no education. The results further indicate significant positive marginal effects for women with children, suggesting that having more children increases the likelihood of participation. This observation was more pronounced in the rural urban estimates. The paper suggests that women’s labour force participation and home production are complements rather than substitutes considering the dominance of women in self-employment and/or informal sector where women are able to combine work and home production. moreover, the study established a positive relationship between females in good health and the level of participation, and discusses some policy recommendations to encourage participation of women in the Ghanaian labour force.

Suggested Citation

  • Baah-Boateng, William & Frempong, Richard & Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward, 2013. "The effect of fertility and education on female labour force participation in Ghana," MPRA Paper 109703, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:109703
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mahesh Karra & Joshua Wilde, 2024. "Economic Foundations of Contraceptive Transitions: Theories and a Review of the Evidence," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 50(S2), pages 539-569, December.
    2. William Baah-Boateng & Kingsley Laar & Edward Nketiah-Amponsah, 2021. "Child health and maternal labour market engagement in Ghana," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 23(2), pages 283-301, December.
    3. de Jong, Eelke & Smits, Jeroen & Longwe, Abiba, 2017. "Estimating the Causal Effect of Fertility on Women’s Employment in Africa Using Twins," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 360-368.
    4. Jonathan Lain, 2019. "Discrimination in a search and matching model with self-employment," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-35, December.
    5. Ali, Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa & Ebaidallah, Ebaidallah Mahjoub & Elhaj, Manal Osman, 2025. "The Interplay Between Fertility and Female Labor Market Dynamics in the Arab Region: A Time Series Analysis," MPRA Paper 124964, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Emmanuel Aderinola ADEGUN & Sunday Festus OLASUPO & Ishola James ARANSIOLA & Toluwani Grace KALEJAIYE & Timothy Ayomitunde ADEREMI, 2023. "Role of Female Labour Participation in Reducing Income Inequality in ECOWAS Sub-Region," Business & Management Compass, University of Economics Varna, issue 1, pages 60-79.
    7. Nsanja, Lamulo, 2022. "Effects of Education on Fertility and Labour Supply: Evidence from Malawi," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 10(4), September.
    8. Yu Shuangshuang & Wenzhong Zhu & Nafeesa Mughal & Sergio Ivan Vargas Aparcana & Iskandar Muda, 2023. "The impact of education and digitalization on female labour force participation in BRICS: an advanced panel data analysis," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    9. Yew Seng Law & Chung-Khain Wye, 2023. "The effects of fertility on female labour force participation in OECD countries: the role of education and health," Studies in Economics and Econometrics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(3), pages 280-302, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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