Question

NAKED ECONOMICS BY WHEELAN

Human Capital and Woman Power refer at least in part to what I would call cultural factors relating to development (though cultural factors may be enshrined into laws). Using the experience of the United States over the last 30-40 years for comparison, how does the role of women in the economy factor into the development process of poor countries?

Answer 1

While the involvement of women in the labor force tends to increase with economic development, the relationship at country level is not clear or consistent.
There is considerably more variation across developing countries in labor force participation by women than by men. A wide variety of economic and social factors, including economic growth, employment, and social norms, cause this variability. In order to improve women's access to quality employment more broadly, a critical policy area is to improve women's education beyond secondary education.

Female labor force participation is an important driver (and outcome) of growth and development.
In response to shocks, women join the labor force in developing countries as a coping mechanism.
Women's presence is the result of different macro and individual influences.
Access to quality education (beyond secondary education) is key to improving women's employment outcomes.

Focusing on these issues is important because participation by women in the labor force is a driver of growth and therefore participation rates reflect the capacity for a nation to grow faster. It is also important because the participation of women in the labor force in many developing countries is a coping mechanism in response to the household's economic shocks. However, beyond the numbers is the far more important concern with the quality of work that women are able to engage in

Consequently, the supply of female labor is both a source and a function of development. As more women enter labor force, as a result of higher labor inputs, economies can grow faster.
At the same time, as countries develop, the skill of women generally increases, while social constraints relax, encouraging women to participate in work outside the home. For this reason, policymakers need to understand the nature of women's labor supply and to monitor women's labor force participation. Basically, participation in the labor force is the result not only of supply-side factors, but also of labor demand.

Unlike South Asia, women's participation in the labor market has traditionally been lower in East and Southeast Asia. As countries in these regions developed rapidly in the twentieth century, workers, including women, transitioned from agriculture to manufacturing. Overall, changes in education and expansion of export-oriented development have forced women into newly created jobs in these economies