Akyeampong, EmmanuelFofack, Hippolyte2013-09-262013-09-262013-07https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15895This paper draws on history, anthropology, and economics to examine the dynamics and extent of women's contribution to growth and economic development in post-colonial Africa. The paper investigates the paradox of increased female enrollment in education and the persistence of gender discrimination in labor force participation; it also considers the overwhelming importance of the informal economy in female economic activity. The first axis the paper studies is whether reducing educational gender gaps enhances growth in per capita gross domestic product and reduces female fertility rates and infant mortality. The question is, why would some African countries resist this pattern? The second axis examines agriculture and home production. Women's economic activities in the informal economy largely represent the commercialization of domestic skills and dependence on social networks. The shunting of female production to the informal sector in the male-dominated colonial economy is easy to understand, but why has the informal economy persisted where female production is concerned well beyond the colonial period? The paper attempts to explain these trajectories by using country case studies on Senegal, Botswana, and Kenya. Although women's contribution to growth and economic development seems to be positive and significant in predominantly Christian and mineral-rich economies, it is more constrained in pronounced Muslim dominated countries and agrarian economies. At the same time, impressive uniform growth in informal sector production in recent years suggests that occupational job segregation and gender inequality remain strong across the region, despite the apparent loosening of traditional norms and cultural beliefs, most notably illustrated by the reduction in educational gender gaps and increased female labor force participation rates.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS OF WOMENACCESS TO EDUCATIONACCESS TO RESOURCESACCESS TO SCHOOLINGADULT EDUCATIONADULT WOMENAGE OF MARRIAGEAGRICULTURAL SECTORBASIC EDUCATIONBASIC NUMERACYBREADWINNERSCAPACITY OF WOMENCAREGIVERSCHILD EDUCATIONCHILD HEALTHCHILD MORTALITYCHILD MORTALITY RATESCIVIL WARCOMPLETION RATESCOUNTRY CASECOURTSCULTURAL VALUESCURRICULUMCUSTOMARY LAWDEPENDENCE ON MENDEPENDENCY RATIOSDESCENTDETERMINANTS OF GROWTHDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT POLICYDROPOUTDROPOUT RATESECONOMIC ACTIVITIESECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMENECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIESECONOMICSEDUCATION OF GIRLSEDUCATION PROGRAMSEDUCATION SECTOREDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEDUCATIONAL GENDEREDUCATIONAL GENDER GAPSEDUCATIONAL POLICIESEDUCATIONAL SYSTEMEMPIRICAL RESULTSEMPIRICAL STUDIESEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESENROLLMENT OF CHILDRENENROLLMENT RATESENROLLMENT RATIOEQUALITY IN EDUCATIONETHNIC GROUPSEXAMSFAMILIESFAMILY PLANNINGFAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMSFEMALEFEMALE ACCESSFEMALE CHILDRENFEMALE EDUCATIONFEMALE EMPLOYMENTFEMALE ENROLLMENTFEMALE LABORFEMALE LABOR FORCEFEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONFEMALE MIGRANTSFEMALE POPULATIONFEMALESFERTILITYFERTILITY RATEFERTILITY RATESFORMAL EDUCATIONGENDERGENDER BIASGENDER DISCRIMINATIONGENDER EQUALITYGENDER EQUALITY IN EDUCATIONGENDER GAPGENDER GAPS IN ACCESSGENDER INEQUALITIESGENDER INEQUALITYGENDER PARITYGENDER RELATIONSGIRLSGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH REGRESSIONHEALTH CAREHEALTH OUTCOMESHEALTH SECTORHIGHLY EDUCATED WOMENHIVHOMEHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHOUSEHOLD LEVELHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINCIDENCE OF POVERTYINFANTINFANT MORTALITYINFECTION RATESINFORMAL ECONOMYINFORMAL SECTORINFORMAL SECTOR EMPLOYMENTINFORMAL SECTORSINTERVENTIONSISLAMIC LAWKINSHIPLABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLABOR MARKETLEARNINGLITERACYLITERACY CLASSESLITERACY RATESLONG RUNLONG-RUN GROWTHLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESLOW-INCOME COUNTRYMEDICAL SCHOOLMIDWIVESMIGRANTSMIGRATIONMINORITYMOBILITY OF WOMENMOTHERNATIONAL ACCOUNTSNATIONAL LEVELNATURAL RESOURCENATURAL RESOURCESOFFICIAL LANGUAGEOPPRESSIONPARTICIPATION OF WOMENPARTICIPATION RATESPATRIARCHYPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIESPHARMACIESPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPOLICY IMPLICATIONSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPOPULATION GROWTHPOVERTY REDUCTIONPREGNANCYPREGNANT WOMENPRIMARY EDUCATIONPRIMARY ENROLLMENTPRIMARY ENROLLMENT RATESPRIMARY ENROLLMENTSPRIMARY SCHOOLPRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENTSPRIMARY SCHOOLSPRODUCTIVITYPROGRESSPROSTITUTIONREDUCTION OF FERTILITYRELIGIOUS BELIEFSREPRESENTATION OF WOMENREPRODUCTIVE CAPACITYREPRODUCTIVE ROLESRESOURCE ALLOCATIONRICH COUNTRIESROLE MODELSROLE OF WOMENRURAL AREASRURAL POPULATIONSSAFETY NETSAFETY NETSSCHOOL ATTENDANCESCHOOL QUALITYSCHOOLSSECONDARY EDUCATIONSECONDARY SCHOOLSECONDARY SCHOOL LEVELSECONDARY SCHOOLINGSEXSEXUAL DIVISION OF LABORSINGLE WOMENSKILLED WORKERSSOCIAL NORMSSOCIAL RETURNSSOCIAL SCIENCESSOCIAL STATUSSTATE SCHOOLSSUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURETEACHERSTEACHINGTECHNICAL TRAININGTERTIARY EDUCATIONTRADITIONAL SOCIETIESTUITIONUNDPUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT RATESUNESCOUNICEFUNIFEMUNIVERSAL ACCESSUNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATIONURBAN AREASURBAN CENTERSURBAN GROWTH RATEURBAN MIGRATIONURBAN POPULATIONURBAN POPULATIONSURBAN WOMENURBANIZATIONVULNERABILITYWAGE GAPWARSWDRWIFEWOMANWOMEN WORKERSWORKFORCEWORKING MOTHERSYOUNG MENYOUNG WOMENYOUTHYOUTH LITERACYWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-6537