The moderating role of human development in the effect of institutional factors on women's employment: Panel data analysis

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the moderating role of human development in the effect of institutional factors on women's employment using panel data analysis. The study covers data from 79 developing countries (excluding high-income OECD member countries) for the period 2002-2017. Model specification tests are used to specify whether the least squares, fixed effects or random effects models are effective. The ratio of female labor force participation to male labor force participation is used as the dependent variable in the models. Institutional factors consist of voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption, and institutional quality. The study is based on the hypothesis that the effect of institutional factors on female labor force participation is positive in developing countries with a high level of human development. Interaction terms are constructed between institutional factors and the human development index to test this hypothesis. The main result of the study shows that the effect of institutional factors on women's employment is negative and the effect of interaction terms is positive. This finding implies that human development has a moderating role.