Macroeconomic Effects of Gender Equality. Hector Pollitt (Cambridge Econometrics) presents key findings on the macroeconomic effects of gender equality.

Margit Schratzenstaller

Julia Bachtrögler, Hector Pollitt (© WIFO)

08.02.2019

Macroeconomic Effects of Gender Equality

Hector Pollitt (Cambridge Econometrics) presents key findings on the macroeconomic effects of gender equality.

The socio-economic effects of gender equality from a macroeconomic perspective were the focus of a study for the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) presented by Hector Pollitt (Cambridge Econometrics) in a WIFO-Extern. The analysis shows that an increase of equality between women and men can have positive effects on employment, income and GDP.

The study focuses on employment rates, participation rates, income and GDP as key macroeconomic variables that may be affected by improved gender equality in the Member States of the European Union. Four "pathways" to improving equality were defined:

eliminating the gender gap in higher education.
eliminating the gender gap in labour market participation.
eliminating the gender pay gap.
increasing fertility rates.

The model-based simulations carried out in the study show a positive influence on key macroeconomic variables for all four pathways. In particular, an alignment of women's participation rates with those of men has a positive effect on macroeconomic performance. Depending on the extent of the gender gaps in the baseline scenario, considerable differences between countries can be observed.