Role of institutional quality on women's empowerment—A case of highly gender unequal Asian countries

Abstract

Equal access to rights and opportunities for women and men is one of the indicators of women's empowerment. Classical economic growth models ignored gender differences in the labor force, but the literature now acknowledges the merits of equal participation of both genders in economic activities. This study investigates the determinants of gender equality as an instrument of women's empowerment. This study focused on Asian countries with a high gender gap in several domains. This lag in women's empowerment is hypothesized to be due to low‐quality institutions. The data for this investigation is compiled from World Development Indicators, Global Gender Gap reports, the Polity IV project, World Governance Indicators, and Human Development Reports. The Panel Feasible Generalized Least Squares results show that female unemployment and good governance tend to increase the gender gap in Asian countries, while Human Development Index, trade openness and democracy reduce the gender gap. This quantitative assessment is instrumental for policymakers in socially empowering women on equal terms with men in Asia.