Can women's literacy and education spending serve as robust pillars of development in Madagascar?

Josué, ANDRIANADY and Andrianavony, Kanto Joviannah (2025): Can women's literacy and education spending serve as robust pillars of development in Madagascar?

Abstract

This study examines the role of women’s literacy and pub lic education expenditure as drivers of sustainable develop ment in Madagascar. Despite high female labor force par ticipation (82.6% in 2024), structural constraints, includ ing low secondary school completion rates (33.5% for girls in 2023) and predominant engagement in vulnerable employ ment (88.2%), hinder women’s economic contributions. Em ploying an econometric framework with three models—time series analysis for Madagascar (1990–2023) and panel re gressions (fixed and random effects) across low-income Sub Saharan African countries—we find that a one-percentage point increase in female literacy corresponds to an approxi mate 1.7 USD increase in per capita GDP and a 0.00235 point rise in the Human Development Index (HDI), with statistically significant coefficients across all models. These f indings underscore the critical role of women’s education in fostering economic growth and human development. How ever, persistent gender gaps in formal employment, financial inclusion (only 25.2% of women held financial accounts in 2022), and political representation (16.5% of parliamentary seats) highlight the need for comprehensive policy interven tions. We recommend increased investment in girls’ educa tion, labor market formalization, and enhanced financial and political inclusion to unlock the full potential of women’s hu man capital for Madagascar’s sustainable development.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: female economic inclusion, educational expenditure, GDP per capita, Madagascar, human capital, gender inequality, economic growth, financial inclusion, panel regression
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I0 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development

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