Marginalized Labor, Sacrificed Welfare: Women's Digital Capital and Its Contribution to Economic Growth

Öz

In the context of sustainable development, another substantial issue, in addition to equity in income distribution, is the equitable distribution of physical and human capital. This issue was a fundamental cause of the gender wage gap during the Agricultural Revolution. The Industrial Revolution further reinforced it and, unfortunately, continues to persist in the era of the Digital Revolution. Whiler the Digital Revolution has led to radical changes in labor markets, it also gives rise to contemporary issues concerning the distribution of resources and income. This study examines the impact of women's digital capital stock and human capital acquisition on the real per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of countries, using data from EU-27 member states spanning the years 2018 to 2022. The Women in Digitalization Scoreboard (WID) offers a valuable metric for assessing the gender digital divide and serves as a contemporary proxy for tracking digital inclusion across countries. According to results of the random effects Driscoll-Kraay model, an increase in the employment and the WID leads to a statistically significant increase in GDP. The negative impact of gross fixed capital investment points toward the law of diminishing marginal returns. Finally, R&D (research & development) expenditures do not have statistically significant effect.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Digital capital
• economic growth
• women in digitalization

Marjinalleştirilen Emek, Vazgeçilen Refah: Kadınların Dijital Sermayesi ve Ekonomik Büyümeye Katkısı

Öz

Sürdürülebilir kalkınma açısından gelirin adil bölüşümü kadar önemli bir diğer husus da gelirin oluşumu için gerekli olan fiziksel ve beşerî sermayenin toplum içinde adil bir şekilde dağılmasıdır. Bu mesele, tarım devrimiyle birlikte cinsiyete dayalı ücret eşitsizliğinin temel sebeplerinden biri olmuş, sanayi devrimi ile daha da pekişmiş ve dijital devrim sürecinde değişen bir suretle varlığını sürdürmüştür. Dijitalleşme devrimi her alanda olduğu gibi emek piyasalarında da ciddi dönüşümlere neden olmuştur. Bununla birlikte kaynakların ve oluşan gelirin dağılımı kapsamında daha güncel sorunları da beraberinde sürüklemiştir. Bu çalışma, kadın emeğinin dijital süreçlere katılımının bir ülkenin Gayri Safi Yurt İçi Hasılası (GSYH) üzerindeki etkisini AB-27 ülkelerine ait 2018-2022 yıllarını kapsayan veriyi kullanarak incelemektedir. Çalışmada, ülkelerin toplumsal cinsiyete dayalı dijital bölüşüm ve katılım süreçlerini ölçmeyi mümkün kılan ve güncel bir gösterge olan Dijitalleşmede Kadın Puan Tablosu (Women in Digitalization Scoreboard-WID) kullanılmaktadır. Bu kapsamda tanısal testlere dayanarak tahmin edilen tesadüfi etkiler Driscoll-Kraay modeli sonuçlarına göre istihdamın ve kadının dijitalleşmeye katılımındaki artışların reel kişi başı GSYH üzerinde pozitif bir etkisi olduğu saptanmaktadır. Modelde kullanılan bir diğer bağımsız değişken olan sabit sermaye yatırımlarının ise negatif ve anlamlı olan istatistiksel etkisi azalan marjinal verimler kanuna işaret etmektedir. Son olarak araştıma ve geliştime (AR&GE) harcamalarının anlamlı bir istatistiksel etkisinin bulunmadığı görülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Dijital sermaye
• ekonomik büyüme
• dijitalleşmede kadın.

Kaynakça

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