Women Educational and Economic Journey

Women’s Educational and Economic Journey: Insights from Global Data “ In this section, I utilized data from 90 countries in the 1970s and 1980s to examine the connections between economic development and various aspects of women’s status: education, labor force participation, involvement in wage work, and fertility. The findings suggest that as countries develop economically, women’s education levels increase both absolutely and relative to men. Women’s participation in the labor force follows a U-shaped pattern, peaking at very low and very high income levels. As income rises, women transition from family work to paid employment, and fertility rates decline. Figure 1 illustrates how women’s education levels vary across countries with different income levels and over time. The top curves show that women’s education generally rises with income. A $1,000 increase in per capita GDP is associated with about a six-year increase in average education. This trend holds for various education measures and age groups. The bottom curves in Figure 1 depict the female-male education gap, which narrows as income rises. Figure 2 demonstrates a U-shaped pattern in female labor force participation across different income levels. The poorest and richest countries have higher participation rates, while middleincome countries exhibit lower rates. This pattern persists over the years. The bottom panel shows that including country-specific fixed effects results in a more subdued U-shape. Figure 3 displays nonparametric regressions for 1970 and 1980, indicating that higher income leads to a higher fraction of women in wage employment and a decrease in the total fertility rate. The relationship between income and fertility is complex, influenced by factors such as women’s wages and access to wage work, child mortality, desired family size, and pension systems. In summary, as countries develop economically, women tend to have higher education levels, participate in the labor force in a U-shaped pattern, and experience reduced fertility rates. However, causality between these factors can be challenging to determine from the data provided. In this section, I utilized data from 90 countries in the 1970s and 1980s to examine the connections between economic development and various aspects of women’s status: education, labor force participation, involvement in wage work, and fertility. The findings suggest that as countries develop economically, women’s education levels increase both absolutely and relative to men. Women’s participation in the labor force follows a U-shaped pattern, peaking at very low and very high income levels. As income rises, women transition from family work to paid employment, and fertility rates decline. Figure 1 illustrates how women’s education levels vary across countries with different income levels and over time. The top curves show that women’s education generally rises with income. A $1,000 increase in per capita GDP is associated with about a six-year increase in average education. This trend holds for various education measures and age groups. The bottom curves in Figure 1 depict the female-male education gap, which narrows as income rises. Figure 2 demonstrates a U-shaped pattern in female labor force participation across different income levels. The poorest and richest countries have higher participation rates, while middleincome countries exhibit lower rates. This pattern persists over the years. The bottom panel shows that including country-specific fixed effects results in a more subdued U-shape. Figure 3 displays nonparametric regressions for 1970 and 1980, indicating that higher income leads to a higher fraction of women in wage employment and a decrease in the total fertility rate. The relationship between income and fertility is complex, influenced by factors such as women’s wages and access to wage work, child mortality, desired family size, and pension systems. In summary, as countries develop economically, women tend to have higher education levels, participate in the labor force in a U-shaped pattern, and experience reduced fertility rates. However, causality between these factors can be challenging to determine from the data provided.