Economic Impacts of Gender Inequality in Niger

Abstract

Reducing gender inequality could increase GDP per capita by more than a fourth in Niger by 2030. These significant economic gains would be generated by enabling women to have the same earnings as men and reducing fertility and thereby population growth. Investing in girls’ education and reducing child marriage are critical to achieve these objectives, as are investments to raise women’s participation in the labor force and their productivity at work. While the estimates of the gains presented in this study are meant only to provide orders of magnitude, they suggest that achieving gender equality could have major benefits and should be a top priority for the government.