Economic development and women's well being : some empirical evidence from developing countries

This study investigates the effect of economic development on womens well being by relating a countrys per capita GDP with several dimensions that affect womens affluence and well being within the economic, social and political context. Data from a sample of low and middle-income category of countries are used in regression analysis to determine the effect of economic development on several indicators of womens well being. The empirical results provide strong evidence that economic development has been associated with improvements in a number of economic and social indicators of womens well being. In terms of womens political well being, while the proportion of seats held by women in national parliament is positively correlated with economic development, women are still under-represented at the governmental level in terms of holding ministerial portfolios. The major policy implication is that the governments of low and middle-income countries can enhance womens welfare through women-friendly policies and legislation targeting areas such as minimum quotas for each gender for parliamentary seats, improving budgetary allocations for womens activities, maternity leave, anti-discrimination, raising remuneration levels for women in the informal sector and creating social safety nets for women living in vulnerable conditions.