Impact of Labour Force Participation on Economic Growth in South Asian Countries

Abstract

The South Asian region has developed socially and economically over the last few decades. Economic development of this region has provided more work opportunities for underprivileged men and women, changing the employment dynamic. But women arguably have less access to these opportunities because of many social norms, lack of education and skills. This research paper aims to study the relationship between Gross Domestic Product and labour force participation of South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It has projected this regions countries will add 1 million to 1.2 million new participants to the work force each month for the following two decades. They will additionally contribute around 40 percent of the total new apprentice which will deliver more than 66% of worldwide GDP. In the mean time, about a fourth of the world's potential work force lives in South Asia, yet that region's offer of the worldwide economy is a little more than 3 percent. The potential work force in developing countries is assumed to develop by a average of 39 percent within the following 40 years. With this research it is found that the simultaneous increase in labor force participation has a direct impact on countries’ GDP. This is a Quantitative study with Labor Force participation, Gross Capital Formation and terms of trade are used as Independent Variables and GDP is used as Dependent Variable. A long panel data model have been conducted to carry out this research paper. Secondary sources (internet), World Bank database, articles, books were used to collect data and information. We used panel data from FY 1990 to FY 2017.