Is there a bidirectional relationship between female labour force participation and economic development in Middle Eastern countries? Evidence from a bootstrap panel Granger causality test

Abstract

This study explores a bidirectional relationship between the female labour force participation rate and the economic development in fourteen Middle Eastern countries. The bootstrap panel Granger causality method, using seemingly unrelated regressions and Wald tests with country-specific bootstrap critical values, is employed to test causality. The empirical results indicate bidirectional causality in Turkey, a unidirectional causality from economic development to female labour force participation rate in Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, and a unidirectional causality from female labour force participation rates to economic development in Jordan. Economic development prompts female labour force participation in Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, and Turkey, and reduce in the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Female labour force participation harms the economic development in Jordan and Turkey.