Economic Globalisation and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Bangladesh: An Econometric Approach

Abstract

This study aims to investigate an extensive evaluation of the relationship between economic globalisation and women’s economic empowerment in Bangladesh. Using time-series data from 1975 to 2017, the study uses the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR), an indicator of women’s economic empowerment, and the export/GDP (X/GDP) ratio, trade/GDP ratio and foreign direct investment (FDI), indicators of economic globalisation. The research examines econometrically whether economic globalisation such as X/GDP ratio, trade/GDP ratio and FDI influence FLFPR and how to control variables like population growth rate (POP) and real wage rate influence FLFPR. The estimated results show a positive and significant relationship between FLFPR and X/GDP, and RWR and a negative but significant relationship between FLFPR and trade/GDP ratio, and a negative and insignificant relationship between FLFPR and FDI, and POP. The study has employed an auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. In addition, the error correction model has been used to capture the speed of adjustment. The findings from the ARDL-bound testing approach reveal that the variables under study are cointegrated and thus have a long-run relationship. The coefficient of error correction term holds a theoretically correct sign and is also statistically significant, meaning that there exists short-run adjustment in the whole system. JEL: F1, F15, J21, O50