IMPACT OF FEMALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study looked at how women's engagement in the labor sector affects Nigeria's economic growth, within the period 1990-2022. The study is anchored on the feminization U-shaped hypothesis. To determine if the variables were stationary, the study used the augmented Dickey-Fuller test and the Phillips Perron test. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound test approach was employed in testing for cointegration among the series. The ARDL technique explores the impact of female labor force participation on economic growth in the short- and long-term. The series are of mixed order of integration. The coefficient of the error correction mechanism was negative and statistically different from zero. The study showed a positive and statistically significant impact of female labour force participation on economic growth in Nigeria for the reviewed period. There exists a unidirectional causation from female labour force to economic growth. This study suggests that women should explore the Nigerian economic environment with their male counterparts in order to empower themselves and shed the notion that they are the "weaker sex" group.