The effect of fertility and education on female labour force participation in Ghana

This study examines the forces behind female labour force participation (flfP) in Ghana by focusing on the role played by fertility and education, for both urban and rural dwellers. Applying a logistic regression to the fifth round of the Ghana Living standards survey (Glss 5) we established that women with basic and tertiary education have a higher propensity of participation compared with those with no education. The results further indicate significant positive marginal effects for women with children, suggesting that having more children increases the likelihood of participation. This observation was more pronounced in the rural urban estimates. The paper suggests that women’s labour force participation and home production are complements rather than substitutes considering the dominance of women in self-employment and/or informal sector where women are able to combine work and home production. moreover, the study established a positive relationship between females in good health and the level of participation, and discusses some policy recommendations to encourage participation of women in the Ghanaian labour force.