Abstract

The impact of empowering women on economic growth is investigated through testing the influence of proportion of women candidates in parliaments. To obtain a long-term view, cross-country analysis is performed in parallel using 10 years World Bank data of 72 countries divided into the UN income-groups: 1-high, 2-upper-middle, 3-lower-middle, and 4- low-income. Statistical analysis reveals severe degree of multicollinearity. To unveil the desired connection, two approaches are implemented. Principle Component Regression is used to assess the independent impact of women parliamentarians. The results demonstrate a positive significant influence: 10% increase in female parliamentarians increase growth by 0.27%, 0.36%, 0.22%, and 0.49%, respectively. To unveil the joint influence of the considered indicators, interaction regression models are developed. The method demonstrates superior results. This work provides an empirical evidence on the positive impact of women political empowerment with respect to stimulating a sustainable economic growth.

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