Does poor gender equality impede economic growth? - Case: Developing countries

This thesis studies the effects which increased gender equality in education could have on the economic growth and well-being of developing countries in the form of a literary review. The analysis of the effects is done based on an “augmented Solow’s growth model” framework. The main finding from the review of the existing theoretical literature is that reducing gender gaps in education increases the level of human capital in an economy and also has some female-specific indirect effects that support economic growth. Some of the effects seem to be especially strong in developing countries. On the empirical front, the results are contradicting. The thesis offers a comparison of some of the most comprehensive and most cited empirical studies and provides some explanations for the differences in the results. A conclusion is drawn that poor gender equality could indeed impede the economic growth of developing countries, although the size of the effect is to a large extent determined by different country-specific and cultural factors