Gender Equality, Poverty and Economic Growth

Abstract

This paper reviews empirical findings
 from economic analyses of the role of gender equality and
 women's empowerment in reducing poverty and stimulating
 growth. Going beyond the large literature documenting the
 impact of female education on a range of development
 outcomes, the paper presents evidence on the impact of
 women's access to markets (labor, land, and credit) and
 women's decision-making power within households on
 poverty reduction and productivity at the individual and
 household level. The paper also summarizes evidence from
 studies examining the relationship between gender equality
 and poverty reduction and growth at the macro level.
 Although micro level effects of gender equality on
 individual productivity and human development outcomes have
 been well documented and have important ramifications for
 aggregate economic performance, establishing an empirical
 relationship between gender equality and poverty reduction
 and growth at the macro level has proven to be more
 challenging. The paper concludes by identifying priority
 areas for future research.