Response of Economic Diversification To Gender Inequality: Evidence From Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose: The danger inherent in anchoring the growth prospects of an economy on a single product has long been established and for decades now, Nigeria has remained a mono-product economy with all her foreign exchange earning possibilities anchored only on oil revenue. The paper sought to investigate the imperatives of gender equality in expanding the economic base of Nigeria. Methodology: Based on the assumption of increasing returns to scale for the manufacturing sector and constant returns to scale for the primary sector, it apparently follows that a country’s manufacturing output will grow faster (or slower) than that of the rest of the world if it had an initial comparative advantage in manufacturing (or primary) sector as hypothesized by the Prebisch-Singer Hypothesis. Employing Engel-Granger and Error Correction Model in an endogenous growth framework were used in this study. Main Findings: This study found that the existing gender inequality has negative effect on the drive to diversify the economy by reducing the potential pool of human capital and promoting gaps in opportunities. Applications: These programmes will help on female self-employment, increased ratio of female to male labour force participation rate and a reduction in the ratio of female to male in vulnerable employment should be included in policy formulations. Novelty/Originality: The efforts should be sustained that totally remove or reduce to their barest minimum all patriarchal tendencies that exploit the female gender and place them at unequal gender relations. It is also recommended that social institutions such as social protection mechanisms should be entrenched as an avenue to reduce the vulnerabilities faced by women.