Economic Growth-Female Labour Force Participation Nexus: An Empirical Evidence for Pakistan

Economic literature shows significant attention towards the role played by Female labour force in the economic development of nations. The structural changes of economies from agriculture to industrial and services sector reduce the female labour force participation in case of developing nations like Pakistan. This study investigates the nexus between economic growth and female labour force participation for Pakistan’s economy over the period of 1980-2010. In this respect, an attempt is made to find out the U-shaped curve between Female labour force and economic development by employing ARDL technique and Granger causality. The results show long run and U-shaped association between economic development and female labour force participation in case of Pakistan. Our study shows that an increase in education and dynamics of economic activity increases the female labour force participation in later stage of development.