Review of Education.
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Nexus between Women Empowerment and Sustainable Development in LowIncome Countries: Insights from Panel ARDL Model Umm-e-Salma, b Muhammad Naeem Shah, c Shahana Mumtaz, d Muhammad Sibt-e-Ali Instructor Economics.
Govt.
Sadiq Graduate College of Commerce Bahawalpur.
Pakistan E-Mail: salma.
ummeali@yahoo.
Instructor Commerce.
Govt.
Graduate College Civil Lines.
Multan.
Pakistan E-Mail: naeemshahsalary@gmail.
MPhil Scholar.
Department of Economics.
Ghazi University.
DG Khan.
Pakistan School of Business.
Zhengzhou University.
Zhengzhou.
China E-Mail: ali4bzu@gmail.
ARTICLE DETAILS
ABSTRACT
History:
Accepted 05 December 2024 Available Online December 2024 This analysis investigates the impact of women's empowerment on sustainable development in low-income countries using a panel dataset from 2001 to 2020.
For data estimation, panel unit root techniques.
Pedroni cointegration test, panel ARDL and causality tests are used.
Panel ARDL long-run outcomes point out that the variables women empowerment, human capital, life expectancy at birth, and trade openness are positively and significantly related to sustainable development, while the variable agriculture growth has a negative and significant impact on sustainable development in low-income countries.
Keeping in view the study outcomes, it is concluded that women empowerment is playing an important role in influencing sustainable development in low-income countries, so policymakers of these countries need to improve the status of women by providing health, education and employment facilities for women to improve the sustainable development of a country.
Keywords:
Women Empowerment.
Sustainable Development.
Panel ARDL.
Low-Income Countries JEL Classification:
DOI: 10.
47067/real.
A 2024 The authors.
Published by SPCRD Global Publishing.
This is an open access article under the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial 4.
Corresponding authorAos email address: ali4bzu@gmail.
Introduction All countries strive for sustainable development and economic growth.
Using resources wisely, advancing technology, and raising capital is crucial for each nation in maintaining sustainable development and economic Furthermore, women are necessary for human progress since people are regarded as the primary source of productivity.
One of the earlier goals should be to improve the status of women in cultures (Yidz, 2016.
Ameer et al.
, 2024.
Taqi et al.
, 2021 a,.
Promoting fundamental womenAos rights via equity and collaboration leads to sustainable development therefore, womenAos empowerment (WE) is essential for social justice, long-term economic prosperity, and environmental stability (Baker, 2.
In third-world countries, sustainable development (SD) depends on three pillars: social justice, economic success, and environmental preservation.
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Regarding the environmental pillar, it is argued that because of their domestic, agricultural, and cultural duties as well as their acquaintance with the local environment, women are essential to promoting sustainable development patterns in the management of natural resources.
According to the SD pillar of economic well-being, it is generally acknowledged that if one group is much less fortunate than another and if everyone in society is not using their abilities to the fullest extent possible, economic well-being cannot be achieved (Batool & Rehman.
Shah et al.
, 2021.
Sibt-e-Ali et al.
, 2.
WomenAos political, social, and economic engagement is known as WE.
The mutual understanding of both men and women is necessary for a life to be fruitful and fertile (Asghar & Mumtaz, 2.
It is typically challenging for women to enter the formal economy because most work for free or in the hard-to-measure informal sector.
The fact that women are less likely than males to finish their education, to be illiterate, to have lower Job skills, and to encounter societal and cultural barriers that prevent them from entering the formal sector are just a few of the numerous potential reasons for this.
Despite working in the formal sector, women continue to confront several challenges, including the gender wage gap and the childcare penalty.
The gender pay gap describes a particular circumstance when women are paid less than males.
This is primarily because women are still more likely than men to have primary careers and raise their children at home.
This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the childcare penalty, happens when women who are raising children pass up chances to advance in their careers, acquire more expertise, and earn more income (Ehrenberg & Smith, 2018.
Firmansyah & Sihaloho, 2021.
Asghar & Mumtaz, 2.
Understanding women's rights, being confident in them, having control over their lives both within and outside the home, and being able to influence social change are all components of womenAos empowerment.
Economic, social, political, and personal empowerment are among the various elements that interact and depend on one another.
Economic empowerment is the process of ensuring that women are treated fairly in the Inequity and unfairness must be eradicated if women are to have the same status in society as men.
Women should be accepted for who they are in society.
WomenAos voting rights and representation in national and provincial legislatures are essential to political empowerment.
Personal empowerment for women should include personal independence (Sohail, 2.
The empowerment of women and the provision of equitable representation in all government institutions, including those that make, enforce, and interpret laws, are critical to a countryAos political development in particular and its long-term viability in general.
Alvarez .
advocates that policies should provide women with equal participation in decision-making, norms, and institutions.
Furthermore, various stakeholders, not just the government, must share responsibility for sustainable development.
As a result, academics strongly urge more governance participation to ensure sustainable development.
In order to fulfil everyoneAos shared duty to attain sustainable development, the nationAos political climate should be participatory, allowing participation from not only women but also from all other marginalized elements of society (Warth & Koparanova, 2.
Target 5 of the SDGs calls for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and one of its objectives is to eradicate all kinds of discrimination against women and girls globally (UN, 2.
Gender equality will reduce poverty and raise education levels, which will help the worldAos economy become more sustainable (OECD, 2.
Therefore, considering the above discussion, it is important to analyze the role of women's empowerment in influencing sustainable development in low-income countries.
1 Contribution of the Study This analysis used a panel dataset of fifteen low-income countries from 2001 to 2020.
The low-income countries are selected for analysis based on data availability, such as Burkina Faso.
Niger.
Burundi.
Rwanda.
Congo.
Dem.
Republic.
Sierra Leone.
Gambia.
Sudan.
Guinea-Bissau.
Syrian Arab Republic.
Madagascar.
Togo.
Mali.
Uganda, and Mozambique.
The dependent variable used in a model is sustainable development, as Review of Education.
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measured by adjusted savings as a percentage of GNI, while the independent variables are women empowerment, human capital, life expectancy at birth, trade openness and agriculture growth.
For data estimation, correlation matrix, panel unit root techniques.
Pedroni cointegration test, panel ARDL and causality tests are used.
Literature Review The definition of empowerment differs between countries, individuals, races, occupations, and life roles.
There may also be differences in time and location.
Also, men and women may have diverse perspectives about feminism and womenAos freedom in general (Saraswathy et al.
, 2.
Empowerment concerns how individuals and groups are given power, particularly in connection to one another.
The empowerment process is described as questioning the prevailing power relationships and obtaining total authority over power sources.
In many ways, domestic economic strength is also how power is characterized (Mason, 1.
WomenAos economic empowerment is the equitable use of their financial resources to enhance or control other aspects of their lives (Taylor & Pereznieto, 2.
On a personal level, empowerment is described as strengthening self-control by collaborating with others to create initiatives and structures that have a direct impact (Bystydzienski, 1.
Scholars and students focus on womenAos ability to choose how to make use of the possibilities and resources that are accessible (Kabeer, 2.
At the empirical level, different studies investigated the association between women empowerment (WE) and sustainable development, such as Nihangaza & Kwizera .
, which examined the effect of WE on SD in Makamba Province.
The findings show that WE is a crucial component of SD.
Consequently, it is important to Stress WE to enhance SD in Makamba Province.
The study by Abd Al Mola et al.
, .
explored the factors influencing sustainable development in Egypt using data for Egypt from 1977 to 2019.
Their study shows a direct link between WE and SD.
Second, population increase and the unemployment rate both have long-term negative effects on SD, whereas trade openness has an optimistic influence on economic growth (EG).
Thaddeus et al.
explored the effect of the female labor force participation rate (FLFPR) on EG in sub-Saharan African countries using data from 1991 to 2019.
The results also show that FLFPR has a detrimental and significant longterm effect on GDP.
The study by Mariel .
analyzed the influence of womenAos education and LFPR on AfghanAos EG using data from 2002 to 2019.
The GDP and LFPR were shown to be significantly and negatively correlated.
Batool & Rehman .
used data from 384 women in Punjab.
PakistanAos Sargodha district, to assess the effects of WE on SD.
Their study shows that WE is crucial to improving the SD.
The study by Waheed & David .
analyzed the effects of trade, exchange rate, capital, rate of inflation, and governmental fiscal policies on PakistanAos EG from 1977 to 2019.
The findings demonstrate that capital, inflation, exchange rates, and tax receipts have significant long- and short-term correlations with EG.
On the other hand, government taxes, currency rates, and inflation rates have an adverse influence on the EG.
This indicated that to have a less detrimental effect on Pakistan's economic pattern, authorities should concentrate more on improving these areas.
Thaddeus et al.
, .
examined the macroeconomic elements that fueled the EG of Cameroon from 1970 to 2018.
The results displayed that in Cameroon, public spending, trade.
GCF, and rate of exchange all had positive and significant long- and short-term relationships.
Foreign aid, money availability.
HC, inflation, and FDI was adversely connected with the EG.
Similarly.
Zahra et al.
, .
examined the influence of womenAos education on EG of Pakistan from 1991 to 2019.
The results showed that PakistanAos education investment has little bearing on womenAos access to higher education.
The findings discovered that womenAos education has a considerable, favorable impact on PakistanAos economic development.
In addition.
Ustaba & Gylsoy .
explored the association between TurkeyAos EG and FLFPR from 1990 to 2015.
The outcomes showed a significant correlation between EG and the percentage of women who are employed in the manufacturing and service industries.
Also, it was shown that there was a positive and significant correlation between FLFPR and TurkeyAos EG.
Furthermore.
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Yakubu et al.
, .
analyzed the effect of LFPR on EG in Nigeria from 1990 to 2017.
The study found that the LFPR and GFCF are causally related to EG.
Lastly.
Shah et al.
, .
explored different macroeconomic factors of EG in Pakistan.
Their study shows that LFPR, capital and financial development are positive aspects of EG while the inflation rate negatively affects the economic growth in Pakistan.
Data and Methodology This study used a panel dataset of fifteen low-income countries from 2001 to 2020.
The data is gathered from World Development Indicators (WDI).
The low-income countries are selected for analysis based on data availability, including Burkina Faso.
Niger.
Burundi.
Rwanda.
Congo.
Dem.
Rep.
Sierra Leone Gambia.
Sudan.
Guinea-Bissau.
Syrian Arab Republic.
Madagascar.
Togo.
Mali.
Uganda and Mozambique.
To investigate the influence of women empowerment on sustainable development in low-income countries the following model is SDij A Ao A A1WEij A A2 HCij A A3 LEij A A4TRij A A5 AGij A uij SD indicates sustainable development.
WE represents women empowerment.
HC refers to human capital.
LE indicates life expectancy at birth.
TR means trade openness.
AG indicates agriculture growth, and u ij refers to error term.
Table 1: Description of Variables Variables Description of Variables Dependent Variables Sustainable Development Independent Variables Women Empowerment Human Capital Life Expectancy at Birth Trade Openness Agriculture Value added Adjusted savings: gross savings (% of GNI) Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 ) Primary School Enrollment (Femal.
Years Percentage of GDP Percentage of GDP 1 Data Estimation Techniques Different data estimation techniques are used to analyze the impact of WE on SD in low-income countries.
The explanation of these techniques is as follows:
1 Unit Root Analysis Unit root analysis evaluates the stationarity level of variables.
This analysis is useful in knowing the integration order of variables and the section of the econometric technique used for long-run estimation of Different unit root tests, such as the IPS.
LLS.
ADF, and PP tests, are applied to check the integration With the help of this analysis, econometric technique for long-run estimation of parameters can be chosen.
2 Panel Cointegration Analysis Pedroni cointegration test is applied to data to evaluate the long-run cointegration of variables.
Pedroni performed several panel cointegration tests that consider the presence of different intercepts and trend coefficients across sections.
The within-dimension test, also known as the panel statistics test, and the heterogeneous alternative were the two different sorts of alternative hypotheses that Pedroni proposed .
etweendimension or group statistics tes.
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3 Panel ARDL Analysis The panel ARDL model evaluates the short- and long-run association between womenAos empowerment and sustainable development.
Pesaran et al.
, .
introduces the ARDL-PMG model.
Detecting both short- and long-term associations is possible with the help of the ARDL model, an error correction model.
This approach is useful because it allows for the examination of potential long-term correlations regardless of the integration order of the variables, whether they are mutually integrated I.
and I.
or integrated in I.
Nevertheless, this method is inapplicable when the series are integrated of order I.
Additionally, this approach provides reliable and effective estimators since it takes care of endogeneity-related issues by accounting for lag duration for both endogenous and exogenous variables.
Figure 1: Conceptual Model Sustainable Development Data Analysis 1 Descriptive Analysis Table 2 shows that the mean SD.
WE.
LE.
TR and AG values in low-income countries are 2.
4941, 3.
0926, 3.
8679 and 3.
3651, respectively.
The maximum SD.
WE.
LE.
TR and AG values in low-income countries 6725, 4.
4462, 4.
3396, 4.
8856 and 4.
1044, respectively.
Low-income countries' minimum SD.
WE.
LE.
TR and AG values are -1.
1188, 2.
5620, 3.
8416, -0.
2785 and 2.
7462, respectively.
The SD.
WE and TR distributions are negatively skewed, whereas LE and AG have positively skewed distributions.
Lastly.
SD.
WE.
LE and TR have leptokurtic, while AGAos has platykurtic distribution as indicated by kurtosis value.
Table 2: Descriptive Analysis Variables Mean Maximum Minimum Std.
Dev.
Skewness Kurtosis 2 Correlation Analysis Correlation coefficient .
estimates the degree of association between two variables.
This analysis suggests a weak or strong correlation between the variables.
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means no correlation between variables.
Table 3 displays the correlation matrix.
It is found that sustainable development is positively correlated to the women's empowerment .
, and life expectancy .
, while negatively correlated to human capital (-0.
, trade openness (-0.
and agriculture growth (-0.
Table 3: Correlation Matrix Correlation 3 Unit Root Analysis Table 4 shows the outcomes of panel unit root tests.
The results show that the variables sustainable development, women empowerment, and HC are integrated at a level while the variables life expectancy, trade openness and agriculture growth are integrated at 1st order.
this mixed order of integration of variables suggests that the panel ARDL technique is vital in estimating the long-run estimation of parameters Table 4: Unit Root Analysis Variable LLC
Individual Intercept
IPS
ADF
LLC
Intercept and Trend
IPS
ADF
LLC
None
ADF
Results I.
4 Panel Cointegration Analysis Pedroni cointegration test is applied to determine the long-run cointegration of variables in a model.
Table 5 shows that the values of panel PP, and ADF, group PP and ADF-statistic are statistically significant.
this suggests that long-run cointegration exists between the variables in a model.
Table 5: Pedroni Residual Cointegration Test Null Hypothesis: No cointegration Within-Dimension Panel Statistic v-Statistic rho-Statistic PP-Statistic ADF-Statistic Between-Dimension Prob.
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Statistic Prob.
5 Panel ARDL Long-Run Analysis Discussing first the relation between women empowerment and sustainable development, the study found that WE is positively and significantly related to the SD.
The WEAos coefficient exhibits that as WE augments by one unit, it improves sustainable development by 0.
8739 units.
It suggests that women make major contributions to society by working for a living, starting their businesses and caring for their families.
WomenAos empowerment improves their household status and is important for increasing sustainable growth.
These outcomes are also found by Bayeh .
and Adcock .
Furthermore, female education is imperative to influencing sustainable development in low-income countries.
The outcomes show that HC, as measured by female primary school enrolment, is positively and significantly related to sustainable development.
The HCAos coefficient exhibits SD augments by 0.
0639 units for a single unit increase in HC.
It implies that human capital drives sustainable development by enhancing skills, education, and health, which improve productivity and innovation.
A welldeveloped workforce fosters economic growth, reduces poverty, and supports long-term environmental and social sustainability (Slaus & Jacobs, 2.
The positive relationship between HC and SD was also found by Javed .
and Ishfaq et al.
, .
The study also found that female LE at birth is positively and significantly related to sustainable development in low-income countries.
The LEAos coefficientAos value exhibits that as LE augments by a unit, it increases sustainable development by 0.
1632 units.
The ability of women to form a healthy society is enhanced by their financial empowerment, which raises life expectancy and hence sustainable development (Wang et al.
, 2.
Similar outcomes were also confirmed by Raza et al.
, .
Kunze .
On the other hand, trade openness is positively and significantly related to sustainable development in low-income countries.
The TR coefficient shows that SD improved by 0.
1626 units for a single unit increase in TR.
It suggests that foreign trade can encourage innovation, create capital, increase productivity, and more effectively allocate resources to importing nations, improving sustainable development (Belloumi & Alshehry, 2.
The direct link between TR and SD was also confirmed by Asghar et al.
, .
and Asghar et al.
, .
The results also show that agricultural growth is negatively and significantly related to sustainable development in low-income The AGAos coefficient exhibits that as AG increases by one unit, it leads to an increase in sustainable development by -0.
6107 units.
These results do not meet prior expectations.
The negative relationship between agriculture and sustainable development might be because in low-income countries, traditional modes of production mostly occupy the agriculture sector, which does not help improve the living standard of the people, which is negatively related to sustainable development (Shah et al.
, 2.
Table 6: Panel ARDL Long-Run Estimates Dependent Variable: Sustainable Development Variable Coefficient Std.
Error t-Statistic Prob.
6 Panel ARDL Short-Run Analysis This part clarifies the panel ARDL short-run estimates of the impact of WE on SD in low-income Table 7 displays the outcomes of short-run ECM model.
This term should be negative and also Review of Education.
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statistically significant.
The negative term indicates convergence to the equilibrium in case of any disturbances.
is found that the error correction term is negative (Coefficient = -0.
and also statistically significant .
statistic = -4.
Prob.
= 0.
, which exhibits that any disturbance happens in a short-run, 82.
45 percent errors become corrected when moving towards long-run equilibrium.
Table 7: Panel ARDL Short-Run Error Correction Model Dependent Variable: Sustainable Development Variable Coefficient Std.
Error ECM(-.
D(SD(-.
D(WE)
D(HC)
D(LE)
D(TR)
D(AG)
t-Statistic Prob.
Figure 2: Summary of ARDL Outcomes Positive relationship Negative relationship 7 Panel Causality Analysis Table 8 shows unidirectional causality between WE and SD.
HC and SD.
LE and SD, and AD and SD.
addition, no-causality is found between TR and SD in low-income countries.
Table 8: Panel Dumitrescu Hurlin Panel Causality Test W-Stat.
Zbar-Stat.
WE O SD
SD O WE
HC O SD
SD O HC
LE O SD
SD O LE
Prob.
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SD O TR
AG O SD
SD O AG
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No-Causality Unidirectional Conclusions and Recommendations This study investigates the impact of womenAos empowerment on SD in low-income countries.
For this purpose, the panel dataset of fifteen low-income countries from 2001 to 2020 is used.
For data estimation, correlation matrix, panel unit root techniques.
Pedroni cointegration test, panel ARDL and causality tests are Unit root analysis found that the variables sustainable development, women empowerment, and human capital are integrated at a level while the variables life expectancy, trade openness and agriculture growth are integrated in 1st order.
Furthermore.
Pedroni cointegration analysis found the long-run cointegration between the variables in a model.
Panel ARDL long-run outcomes point out that the variables women empowerment.
HC, life expectancy at birth, and TR are positively and significantly related to sustainable development, while the variable agriculture growth has a negative and significant impact on sustainable development in low-income countries.
Short-run ECM model is found that the ECM term is negative and also statistically significant, which exhibits that if any disturbance happens in the short-run, 82.
45 percent of errors become corrected when moving towards long-run equilibrium.
Causality analysis found a unidirectional causality between WE and SD.
HC and SD.
LE and SD, and AD and SD.
In addition, no-causality is found between TR and SD in low-income countries.
Considering the study outcomes, it is concluded that womenAos empowerment is important in influencing sustainable development in low-income countries.
Empowering women leads to improved access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, boosting overall development.
By addressing gender inequalities, women can contribute significantly to environmental sustainability and poverty reduction, creating a ripple effect throughout Sustainable development relies on equitable participation, where womenAos voices are integral to decision-making.
Ultimately, empowering women is a moral imperative and an economic and social necessity for achieving long-term prosperity and reducing poverty in low-income nations.
Policy Recommendations The study also has some policy suggestions to improve women's empowerment and sustainable development in low-income countries.
First, it is suggested that womenAos education should be promoted in lowincome countries.
Investment in educational infrastructure, especially in rural areas, should be encouraged to improve womenAos education level.
Second, technical education for females should be encouraged and provided to enhance the empowerment level of women and sustainable development.
Third, the health of women is also essential in empowering them.
So, policymakers in low-income countries must provide health facilities for women to improve their health status.
Fourth, policymakers should encourage openness to trade by promoting exports of a country.
Lastly, to improve sustainable development, the agriculture sector should be enhanced by using modern modes of production.
Quality seeds and pesticides should be provided to the farmers.
References