Investigating the Impact of Education and Women in Agriculture on Human Capital Outcomes in Africa: An Interaction Analysis
Zhichao Yu
Yunnan Normal University, Pan-Asia Business School, Kunming, 650092, China (China)
Romanus Osabohien
romik247@gmail.comCovenant University, Department of Economics and Development Studies, Ota, Nigeria (Nigeria)
Abstract
Agriculture plays a crucial role in Africa's economy, and women constitute a significant proportion of the agricultural workforce in the region. Impact of women's role in farming and women education in Africa is significant for the human capital development. Furthermore, women's engagement in agricultural activities has increased with time, leading to improved contributions to food security and livelihood. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of women's participation in agriculture and women education interaction on human capital in Africa with the data obtained from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and Human Development Index (HDI) covering 33 African countries for the time frame 2000 to 2018. To control endogeneity that may be present in fixed effects model, the study applied the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM). The results show that, across African sub-regions, while women's participation in agriculture has a significant negative effect, education has a significant positive impact on human capital outcomes. Additionally, the interaction between women participation in agriculture and education has a significant positive impact on human capital across sub-regions in Africa. The findings underscore the need for policies that promote gender equality, as this has the potential to significantly increase human capital formation and sustainable development. The study, through the the interaction between women's in agriculture and education highlights the contribution of these factors to various goals, such as no poverty (SDG 1), zero hunger (SDG 2), quality education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5) and decent work and economic growth (SDG 8).
Keywords:
economic growth, food security, human capital outcomes, population dynamics, sustainable developmentReferences
ABRAHAM A.Y., OHEMENG F.N.A., OHEMENG W., 2017, Female labour force participation: evidence from Ghana, International Journal of Social Economics 44(11): 1489-1505, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-06-2015-0159.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-06-2015-0159
Google Scholar
AKTER S. RUTSAERT P., LUIS J., HTWE NM, SAN S.S., RAHARJO B., PUSTIKA A., 2017, Women’s empowerment and gender equity in agriculture: A different perspective from Southeast Asia, Food Policy 69: 270-279.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.05.003
Google Scholar
ARELLANO M., BOND S., 1991, Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations, Rev. Econ. Stud. 58, 277-297.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2297968
Google Scholar
DRUCZA K., PEVERIB V., 2018, The literature on gendered agriculture in Pakistan: Neglect of women's contributions, Women’s Studies International Forum 69:180-189.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2018.02.007
Google Scholar
EDAFE O.D., OSABUOHIEN E., MATTHEW, O., OSABOHIEN R. AND KHATOON R., 2023, Large-scale agricul-tural investment and female employment in African communities: Quantitative and qualitative insights from Nigeria, Land Use Policy, 127, 106579, DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106579.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106579
Google Scholar
KARAKARA A.A., OSABUOHIEN E.S., NWACHUKWU J.C., OSABOHIEN R.A., 2021, Innovations in savings behaviour and agricultural business support for women: The Ghanaian ‘Money-Box’, African Journal of Reproductive Health 25(5s): 147-158, https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajrh/article/view/221449.
Google Scholar
MATTHEW O., OSABOHIEN R., LAKHANI K.H., ADEROUNMU B., OSADOLOR N.E., ADEDIRAN, O., MA-BINUORI, O., IGHARO A.E., 2022, Women engagement in agriculture and human capital development in developing countries: An African subregional analysis, Plos One 17(12), p.e0277519, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277519.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277519
Google Scholar
OLUWATOBI S., OLA-DAVID O., OLURINOLA I., ALEGE P., OGUNDIPE A., 2016, Human capital, institutions and innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa, International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues 6(4): 1507-1514.
Google Scholar
OSABOHIEN R., (2023). ICT adoption and youth employment in Nigeria's agricultural sector, African Journal of Eco-nomic and Management Studies, https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-03-2022-0111.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-03-2022-0111
Google Scholar
OSABOHIEN R., OLURINOLA I., MATTHEW O., AZUH D., ADEROUNMU B., 2021. Female participation in agriculture and economic development in 33 African Countries. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 25(5s), 107-115, https://doi.org/10.29063/ajrh2021/v25i5s.10.
Google Scholar
Authors
Zhichao YuYunnan Normal University, Pan-Asia Business School, Kunming, 650092, China China
Authors
Romanus Osabohienromik247@gmail.com
Covenant University, Department of Economics and Development Studies, Ota, Nigeria Nigeria
Statistics
Abstract views: 450PDF downloads: 336
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
