The Role of Tourism Development and Government Effectiveness on Female Labor Force Participation: Evidence from South Asian Countries

Abstract

Objective: The current research aims to find out how tourism development affects female labor force participation in South Asia. It also examine the role of government effectiveness in increasing female labor force participation.

Research Gap: Although several studies have examined gender disparities in the labor market or the growth of tourism in South Asia, very few have integrated both tourism development and government effectiveness to explore their combined impact on female labor force participation. Most of the existing research is either qualitative in nature or focused on individual countries. This study fills that gap by using a multi-country dataset and a robust panel estimation technique (FGLS) to provide evidence-based insights into this important development issue.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Due to the presence of cross sectional dependence, autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity issues, the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) regression analysis is used for estimation in this study.

The Main Findings: The findings of the present study reveal that international tourism receipts, government effectiveness, and GDP growth impact female labor force participation significantly and positively.

 Practical and Theoretical Implications of the Findings: This study has a significant theoretical contribution to the literature as it integrates two separately studied factors i.e., tourism development and governance into a combined analytical framework to jointly determine their impact on female labor force participation. Practically, the findings provide policymakers and development practitioners with empirical evidence to design interventions that simultaneously promote tourism and strengthen governance structures to enhance women's employment opportunities

Originality/Value: This study is original in its dual focus on tourism development and governance effectiveness as joint determinants of female labor force participation in South Asia, an approach largely absent in the literature.