Gender Inequality And Economic Development: Evidence From Sub-Sahara Africa

Abstract In developed countries, there is a substantial gender convergence over the last century. This cannot be said for Sub-Sahara Africa. Women are underrepresented in most economic and political spheres of the region. The implication is that the productivity of men increases relative to women thus decreases the supply of women’s labor force and increases the supply of men’s labor force. This study provides evidence of gender inequality on economic development in the Sub-Sahara Africa region. I conduct panel regression of 29 Sub Sahara African countries over the period from 1996 to 2019. Our results show that there is a significant negative impact of gender inequality on economic development in the region, holding other variables constant. Conversely, gender parity will positively affect economic development as evidence in our results. I also find that, Capital accumulation (proxy as Gross Capital Formation), trade openness and population growth are key drivers of economic development of the region. I recommend policies that promote gender equity, trade openness, and growth of healthy population to promote economic development in the region. JEL: A, B, E, H, J, O,