Effects of Economic Development Indicators on Gender Inequality: Evidence from High-Income Countries
Abstract
Aim: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of economic development indicators on gender inequality by using data from high income countries. Gender inequality covers many complex dimensions such as education, politics, socioeconomic developments, cultural structures and the concentration of women in various sectors. In this research is investigated the gender inequality in different dimensions such as economic growth, education, political participation and life expectancy.
Method: For this purpose, this paper employs gender inequality index, GDP per capita, female life expectancy at birth, the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments and expected years of schooling for females. We examine the correlation between gender inequality and women's involvement in parliament, as well as the education rate, life expectancy at birth, and economic growth from 2005 to 2021 applying the dynamic panel data methods.
Results: The analysis results indicate that higher levels of women's involvement in parliament, women's education rates, life expectancy at birth, and economic growth are associated with a decrease in gender inequality. Finally, it has been demonstrated that there is a bilateral causal relationship between gender inequality, the level of women's representation in parliament, women's educational attainment, life expectancy at birth, and economic growth.
Conclusion: In high-income countries, gender inequality diminishes as female life expectancy at birth, predicted years of schooling, economic growth, and the share of women in parliaments increases. A bidirectional causality relationship between gender inequality and the variables is expected, and it is confirmed by the panel causality test conducted in this paper.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Panel Data Analysis, Development Economics - Macro, Macroeconomics (Other), Gender and Politics
Journal Section
Research Article
Early Pub Date
April 29, 2026
Publication Date
May 5, 2026
Submission Date
February 4, 2025
Acceptance Date
October 30, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 13 Number: 1