Militarization, women's labor force participation, and gender inequality: Evidence from global data

Abstract

This study empirically investigates the link between militarization and women's labor force participation rate, and gender inequality. Applying a panel cointegration method for 74 countries for 1990-2017, the study demonstrates the impact of militarization for different country groups, showing a significant negative association between indicators of militarization and women's labor force participation, and gender equality. The findings suggest that militarization is likely to decrease women's labor force participation and increase gender inequality. When considered with the previous literature, an implication of the study is that militarization contributes to lower economic growth via the channel of higher gender inequality.