Female Political Representation and Economic Development in India: An Empirical Analysis

Title

Female Political Representation and Economic Development in India: An Empirical Analysis

Creator

Rajpurohit, Tanushree; Patavardhan, Roopa

Description

Recent years have seen an enhanced focus on women's roles in politics, with research increasingly showing that having a more significant gender representation in decision-making roles can significantly impact economic growth. This chapter delves into how women's political involvement, economic advancement, and gender equality have evolved in India over twenty years from 2000 to 2020, using a time series analysis. The study uses vector autoregression (VAR) analysis to examine how political representation of female, participation rate of labour force (LFPR), and health investment affect the Gender Development Index (GDI). The model diagnostics successfully demonstrated stationarity, non-serial correlation, and the lack of homoscedasticity. The analysis highlights that Female LFPR and GDI are positively related, whereas health expenditure and GDI are negative. Female labour market participation improves GDI, whereas females consistently receive less healthcare expenditure than males, leading to a negative relationship between health expenditure and GDI. Importantly, it is observed that labour market participation has a more substantial effect on GDI than political representation or health investments. This shows that greater female labour force participation is more critical in gender equality than increased political representation or healthcare spending. Highlighting the necessity for policies tailored to women, the chapter argues that these measures are critical for enhancing LFPR and boosting GDI and societal progress. The chapter contributes to the gender discourses in political participation and the empowerment of female, proposing a strategy to improve women's contribution to the labour market, leading higher GDI and, as a result, a more equitable society. 2026 selection and editorial matter, Hebatallah Adam and Abul Hasnat Monjurul Kabir; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.

Source

Gender, Power, and Economic Inequality in the Global South: An Intersectional Approach;pp.97-113

Date

01-01-2026

Publisher

Taylor and Francis

Coverage

Rajpurohit T.; Patavardhan R., School of Social Sciences, Christ University, Bangalore, India

Rights

Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library

Relation

ISBN: 978-104055001-4; 978-103295949-8;

Format

online

Language

English

Type

Book chapter

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003587309-10

https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105028351730?origin=resultslist