Role of women in economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence and policy recommendations

Over a number of decades, Sub Saharan African countries have instituted a series of financial system reforms, and broad macroeconomic policy changes. In this context, it is of interest to establish the contribution of the female labour force to economic growth over time, and to establish whether the economic status of women in Sub-Saharan Africa has changed since the institution of the reforms. The study is therefore interdisciplinary in nature as it merges economics, finance, business and socio-cultural studies. The literature on gender and growth is vast, but studies that look at the economic impact of the female labour force before and after financial and economic market reform in Sub-Saharan Africa are relatively rare. This paper first reviews the literature on gender and economic growth. In particular, the study seeks to establish the dominant transmission channel for this growth and assess how the role of women has changed since financial and economic reform. Particular attention will be paid to the measurement of financial and economic liberalization across the panel of countries being studied. This project will utilize data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators Database, and the International Monetary Fund’s International Financial Statistics database, and will cover the period from 1970-2016. The goal is to look at the theoretical framework that allows for the measurement of the impact of women on economic growth and development, and adapt this framework to include financial and economic reform over a time series of data, for a cross section of Sub Saharan African countries. The eventual aim of the work is to develop a set of policy recommendations for the enhancement of the female labor force and the amplification of the impact of women on economic growth in Sub-Saharan African countries, in the context of a changing financial and economic landscape.