ZENITH International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research
Year : 2019, Volume : 9, Issue : 4
First page : ( 294) Last page : ( 309)
Online ISSN : 2231-5780.

Declining women labour force participation in India-causes and issues

Dr. Narayan Laxmi

Assistant Professor of Economics, Govt. P.G. College, Mahendergarh, Email: proflnyadav@gmail.com

Jel Classification Numbers: J16, J48, O17

Online published on 8 May, 2019.

Abstract

India has made significant economic progress in recent decades since 1990 but the impressive economic growth has not been matched by progress towards women's equal economic participation. Women's participation in economic activities is important for the realization of their full economic potential which would not only enhance economic growth rate but would also make growth more inclusive. The recent sharp decline in female labour force participation (FLFP) rate in India has been a matter of debate in academic and policy spheres and as a result many studies has emerged for explaining this sharp fall in FLFP rate. The paper has undertaken a extensive literature survey in order to understand the decline in female participation in economic activities. Using data obtained from various NSS rounds and from national accounts statistics, the paper test U-shaped relationship between income level and FLFP rate using simple scatter diagram and fitting a polynomial function using MS excel software. Based on the analysis we found that U-shaped relationship doesn't exist in India. This may be either due to the significant large impact of other determinants of FLFP rate which outweigh the effect of increased per capita income or it may be due to a low level of per capita income indicating that India has not yet moved into the rising part of U-shape curve.

Top

Keywords

Female labor force participation, feminization-U hypothesis, India, labour market.

Top