Intra-Household Bargaining Power and its Impact on the Female Labor Force Supply in Pakistan: Women Empowerment Perspective

Abstract

Female labour participation is critical to the country's socioeconomic growth. This quantitative study aims to assess female decision-making processes in Pakistan, considering endogenous intra-household empowerment and female labour-force participation. The study's theoretical foundation is derived from the conventional Collective Bargaining Model of the family. According to the collective model, bargaining among household members serves as the foundation for household decisions, and these decisions shift the balance of power within the family. Cross-sectional data from the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey (PSLM) for 2013-14 were utilized in the study. We developed an Index of Female Bargaining Power (BPF) to measure the BPF and its relationship with female labour supply (FLS). In addition, the household and individual characteristics of females are considered in this study. To capture the endogeneity of women empowerment inside the home, the Instrumental Variable (IV) method is used. The study's findings indicated a strong and substantial endogenous relationship between the BPF and FLS.