Human development and gender equality. A data panel analysis from the SDG5 perspe

Abstract

This article studies the relationship between the Gender Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Inequality Index (GII) through a panel data analysis for 132 countries between 2010 and 2017 based on World Bank data. The results indicate that the relationship between gender development and inequality indices is bidirectional. A reduction of one index point in the GII is associated, on average, and ceteris paribus, with an increase of 0.152 points in the GDI. In contrast, an improvement of one index point in the GDI is related to a reduction of 0.723 index points in the GII. Furthermore, variables such as female employment in the non-agriculture sector and political and economic participation are also crucial in understanding this relationship.