Measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend

Although girls are approximately half the youth population in developing countries, they contribute less than their potential to the economy. The objective of this paper is to quantify the opportunity cost of girls' exclusion from productive e...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chaaban, Jad, Cunningham, Wendy
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
HIV
SEX
Online Access:http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110808092702
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3514
id okr-10986-3514
recordtype oai_dc
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic ABORTION
ACCESS TO HEALTH
ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
ADOLESCENCE
ADOLESCENT
ADOLESCENT BIRTHS
ADOLESCENT FERTILITY
ADOLESCENT GIRL
ADOLESCENT GIRLS
ADOLESCENT MOTHER
ADOLESCENT MOTHERS
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCIES
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY
ADOLESCENTS
ADULT WOMEN
ADULTHOOD
BIRTH RATES
CHILD MARRIAGE
CHILD SURVIVAL
CHILDBIRTH
COMPLETION RATES
COMPLICATIONS
CULTURAL NORMS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
DROPOUT
DROPOUT RATES
EARLY CHILDBEARING
EARLY MARRIAGE
EARLY MOTHERHOOD
EARLY PREGNANCIES
EARLY PREGNANCY
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
ECONOMIC FACTORS
ECONOMIC GAINS
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
ECONOMIC OUTCOMES
ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY
EDUCATED GIRLS
EDUCATION LEVELS
EDUCATION OF GIRLS
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
EDUCATIONAL CURRICULA
EDUCATIONAL LEVELS
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
ENROLLMENT
ENROLLMENT RATES
ENROLMENT RATES
FAMILY INCOME
FEMALE EDUCATION
FEMALE EMPLOYMENT
FEMALE POPULATION
FERTILITY RATE
FIRST BIRTH
FORMAL SCHOOLING
FREQUENT ABSENTEEISM
GAP BETWEEN GIRLS
GENDER
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
GENDER DISPARITIES
GENDER EQUALITY
GENDER GAP
GENDER INEQUALITY
GENDER UNIT
GIRLS AT RISK
GIRLS IN SCHOOL
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
GLOBAL HEALTH
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
HEAD TEACHERS
HEALTH RISKS
HEALTHIER FAMILIES
HIGH COSTS
HIV
HUMAN CAPITAL
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN POTENTIAL
HUMAN RIGHTS
INFANT
INFANT MORTALITY
INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION
INTERNSHIPS
INTERVENTIONS
INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION
JOB TRAINING
KIDS
LABOR FORCE
LABOR MARKET
LABOR MARKETS
LABOR SUPPLY
LABOUR DEMAND
LABOUR ORGANIZATION
LEARNING
LEAVING SCHOOL
LEVEL OF EDUCATION
LEVELS OF EDUCATION
LIFE EXPECTANCY
MARITAL STATUS
MARKET ECONOMY
MATERNAL CAUSES
MOTHER
NET ENROLLMENT
NEWBORNS
NUMBER OF ADOLESCENT PREGNANCIES
NUMBER OF BIRTHS
NUMBER OF GIRLS
NUMBER OF WORKERS
OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
OLD GIRLS
POLICY DISCUSSIONS
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
POLICY MAKERS
POLICY RESEARCH
POLICY RESEARCH REPORT ON GENDER
POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
POPULATION COUNCIL
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
POPULATION INFORMATION
POPULATION INFORMATION PROGRAM
POPULOUS COUNTRY
POVERTY REDUCTION
PREGNANCY RATES
PRIMARY DROPOUT RATES
PRIMARY EDUCATION
PRIMARY SCHOOL
PRIMARY SCHOOL DROPOUTS
PRIMARY SCHOOL FACILITIES
PRIMARY SCHOOL-AGED GIRLS
PRIVATE SCHOOLING
PROGRESS
PUBLIC HEALTH
REGIONAL PATTERNS
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
RETURNS TO EDUCATION
RISKY BEHAVIOR
RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
SAFETY NETS
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
SCHOOL LEAVERS
SCHOOLING
SCHOOLS
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SECONDARY ENROLMENT
SECONDARY LEVEL
SECONDARY SCHOOL
SECONDARY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
SELF ESTEEM
SEX
SEXES
SEXUAL HEALTH
SEXUAL HEALTH CHOICES
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL FACTORS
SOCIAL SCIENCE
SPOUSES
STATE OF WORLD POPULATION
SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS
TEACHING
TEEN
TEEN GIRLS
TEENAGE MOTHERHOOD
TEENAGE PREGNANCY
TERTIARY EDUCATION
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNICEF
UNINTENDED PREGNANCY
UNITED NATIONS
UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND
WAGE DIFFERENCES
WAGE GAP
WORKFORCE
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
YOUNG ADULTS
YOUNG FEMALES
YOUNG GIRLS
YOUNG MEN
YOUNG MOTHER
YOUNG MOTHERS
YOUNG PEOPLE
YOUNG WOMEN
YOUTH
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
spellingShingle ABORTION
ACCESS TO HEALTH
ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
ADOLESCENCE
ADOLESCENT
ADOLESCENT BIRTHS
ADOLESCENT FERTILITY
ADOLESCENT GIRL
ADOLESCENT GIRLS
ADOLESCENT MOTHER
ADOLESCENT MOTHERS
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCIES
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY
ADOLESCENTS
ADULT WOMEN
ADULTHOOD
BIRTH RATES
CHILD MARRIAGE
CHILD SURVIVAL
CHILDBIRTH
COMPLETION RATES
COMPLICATIONS
CULTURAL NORMS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
DROPOUT
DROPOUT RATES
EARLY CHILDBEARING
EARLY MARRIAGE
EARLY MOTHERHOOD
EARLY PREGNANCIES
EARLY PREGNANCY
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
ECONOMIC FACTORS
ECONOMIC GAINS
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
ECONOMIC OUTCOMES
ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY
EDUCATED GIRLS
EDUCATION LEVELS
EDUCATION OF GIRLS
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
EDUCATIONAL CURRICULA
EDUCATIONAL LEVELS
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
ENROLLMENT
ENROLLMENT RATES
ENROLMENT RATES
FAMILY INCOME
FEMALE EDUCATION
FEMALE EMPLOYMENT
FEMALE POPULATION
FERTILITY RATE
FIRST BIRTH
FORMAL SCHOOLING
FREQUENT ABSENTEEISM
GAP BETWEEN GIRLS
GENDER
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
GENDER DISPARITIES
GENDER EQUALITY
GENDER GAP
GENDER INEQUALITY
GENDER UNIT
GIRLS AT RISK
GIRLS IN SCHOOL
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
GLOBAL HEALTH
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
HEAD TEACHERS
HEALTH RISKS
HEALTHIER FAMILIES
HIGH COSTS
HIV
HUMAN CAPITAL
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN POTENTIAL
HUMAN RIGHTS
INFANT
INFANT MORTALITY
INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION
INTERNSHIPS
INTERVENTIONS
INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION
JOB TRAINING
KIDS
LABOR FORCE
LABOR MARKET
LABOR MARKETS
LABOR SUPPLY
LABOUR DEMAND
LABOUR ORGANIZATION
LEARNING
LEAVING SCHOOL
LEVEL OF EDUCATION
LEVELS OF EDUCATION
LIFE EXPECTANCY
MARITAL STATUS
MARKET ECONOMY
MATERNAL CAUSES
MOTHER
NET ENROLLMENT
NEWBORNS
NUMBER OF ADOLESCENT PREGNANCIES
NUMBER OF BIRTHS
NUMBER OF GIRLS
NUMBER OF WORKERS
OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
OLD GIRLS
POLICY DISCUSSIONS
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
POLICY MAKERS
POLICY RESEARCH
POLICY RESEARCH REPORT ON GENDER
POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
POPULATION COUNCIL
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
POPULATION INFORMATION
POPULATION INFORMATION PROGRAM
POPULOUS COUNTRY
POVERTY REDUCTION
PREGNANCY RATES
PRIMARY DROPOUT RATES
PRIMARY EDUCATION
PRIMARY SCHOOL
PRIMARY SCHOOL DROPOUTS
PRIMARY SCHOOL FACILITIES
PRIMARY SCHOOL-AGED GIRLS
PRIVATE SCHOOLING
PROGRESS
PUBLIC HEALTH
REGIONAL PATTERNS
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
RETURNS TO EDUCATION
RISKY BEHAVIOR
RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
SAFETY NETS
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
SCHOOL LEAVERS
SCHOOLING
SCHOOLS
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SECONDARY ENROLMENT
SECONDARY LEVEL
SECONDARY SCHOOL
SECONDARY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
SELF ESTEEM
SEX
SEXES
SEXUAL HEALTH
SEXUAL HEALTH CHOICES
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL FACTORS
SOCIAL SCIENCE
SPOUSES
STATE OF WORLD POPULATION
SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS
TEACHING
TEEN
TEEN GIRLS
TEENAGE MOTHERHOOD
TEENAGE PREGNANCY
TERTIARY EDUCATION
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNICEF
UNINTENDED PREGNANCY
UNITED NATIONS
UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND
WAGE DIFFERENCES
WAGE GAP
WORKFORCE
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
YOUNG ADULTS
YOUNG FEMALES
YOUNG GIRLS
YOUNG MEN
YOUNG MOTHER
YOUNG MOTHERS
YOUNG PEOPLE
YOUNG WOMEN
YOUTH
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Chaaban, Jad
Cunningham, Wendy
Measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend
geographic_facet The World Region
The World Region
relation Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5753
description Although girls are approximately half the youth population in developing countries, they contribute less than their potential to the economy. The objective of this paper is to quantify the opportunity cost of girls' exclusion from productive employment with the hope that stark figures will lead policymakers to reconsider the current underinvestment in girls. The paper explores the linkages between investing in girls and potential increases in national income by examining three widely prevalent aspects of adolescent girls' lives: early school dropout, teenage pregnancy and joblessness. The countries included in the analysis are: Bangladesh, Brazil, Burundi, China, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Paraguay, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The authors use secondary data to allow for some comparability across countries. They find that investing in girls so that they would complete the next level of education would lead to lifetime earnings of today's cohort of girls that is equivalent to up to 68 percent of annual gross domestic product. When adjusting for ability bias and labor demand elasticities, this figure falls to 54 percent, or 1.5 percent per year. Closing the inactivity rate between girls and boys would increase gross domestic product by up to 5.4 percent, but when accounting for students, male-female wage gaps and labor demand elasticities, the joblessness gap between girls and their male counterparts yields an increase in gross domestic product of up to 1.2 percent in a single year. The cost of adolescent pregnancy as a share of gross domestic could be as high as 30 percent or as low as 1 percent over a girl's lifetime, depending on the assumptions used to calculate the losses.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Chaaban, Jad
Cunningham, Wendy
author_facet Chaaban, Jad
Cunningham, Wendy
author_sort Chaaban, Jad
title Measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend
title_short Measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend
title_full Measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend
title_fullStr Measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend
title_full_unstemmed Measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend
title_sort measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend
publishDate 2012
url http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110808092702
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3514
_version_ 1764387125605695488
spelling okr-10986-35142021-04-23T14:02:10Z Measuring the economic gain of investing in girls : the girl effect dividend Chaaban, Jad Cunningham, Wendy ABORTION ACCESS TO HEALTH ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES ADOLESCENCE ADOLESCENT ADOLESCENT BIRTHS ADOLESCENT FERTILITY ADOLESCENT GIRL ADOLESCENT GIRLS ADOLESCENT MOTHER ADOLESCENT MOTHERS ADOLESCENT PREGNANCIES ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY ADOLESCENTS ADULT WOMEN ADULTHOOD BIRTH RATES CHILD MARRIAGE CHILD SURVIVAL CHILDBIRTH COMPLETION RATES COMPLICATIONS CULTURAL NORMS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT POLICY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DROPOUT DROPOUT RATES EARLY CHILDBEARING EARLY MARRIAGE EARLY MOTHERHOOD EARLY PREGNANCIES EARLY PREGNANCY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ECONOMIC FACTORS ECONOMIC GAINS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ECONOMIC OUTCOMES ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY EDUCATED GIRLS EDUCATION LEVELS EDUCATION OF GIRLS EDUCATION PROGRAMS EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EDUCATIONAL CURRICULA EDUCATIONAL LEVELS EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ENROLLMENT ENROLLMENT RATES ENROLMENT RATES FAMILY INCOME FEMALE EDUCATION FEMALE EMPLOYMENT FEMALE POPULATION FERTILITY RATE FIRST BIRTH FORMAL SCHOOLING FREQUENT ABSENTEEISM GAP BETWEEN GIRLS GENDER GENDER BASED VIOLENCE GENDER DISPARITIES GENDER EQUALITY GENDER GAP GENDER INEQUALITY GENDER UNIT GIRLS AT RISK GIRLS IN SCHOOL GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT GLOBAL HEALTH GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT HEAD TEACHERS HEALTH RISKS HEALTHIER FAMILIES HIGH COSTS HIV HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT HUMAN POTENTIAL HUMAN RIGHTS INFANT INFANT MORTALITY INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION INTERNSHIPS INTERVENTIONS INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION JOB TRAINING KIDS LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LABOR SUPPLY LABOUR DEMAND LABOUR ORGANIZATION LEARNING LEAVING SCHOOL LEVEL OF EDUCATION LEVELS OF EDUCATION LIFE EXPECTANCY MARITAL STATUS MARKET ECONOMY MATERNAL CAUSES MOTHER NET ENROLLMENT NEWBORNS NUMBER OF ADOLESCENT PREGNANCIES NUMBER OF BIRTHS NUMBER OF GIRLS NUMBER OF WORKERS OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE OLD GIRLS POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY IMPLICATIONS POLICY MAKERS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH REPORT ON GENDER POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POPULATION COUNCIL POPULATION DISTRIBUTION POPULATION INFORMATION POPULATION INFORMATION PROGRAM POPULOUS COUNTRY POVERTY REDUCTION PREGNANCY RATES PRIMARY DROPOUT RATES PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIMARY SCHOOL PRIMARY SCHOOL DROPOUTS PRIMARY SCHOOL FACILITIES PRIMARY SCHOOL-AGED GIRLS PRIVATE SCHOOLING PROGRESS PUBLIC HEALTH REGIONAL PATTERNS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE RETURNS TO EDUCATION RISKY BEHAVIOR RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR SAFETY NETS SCHOOL ATTENDANCE SCHOOL LEAVERS SCHOOLING SCHOOLS SECONDARY EDUCATION SECONDARY ENROLMENT SECONDARY LEVEL SECONDARY SCHOOL SECONDARY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE SELF ESTEEM SEX SEXES SEXUAL HEALTH SEXUAL HEALTH CHOICES SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL FACTORS SOCIAL SCIENCE SPOUSES STATE OF WORLD POPULATION SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS TEACHING TEEN TEEN GIRLS TEENAGE MOTHERHOOD TEENAGE PREGNANCY TERTIARY EDUCATION TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES UNEMPLOYMENT UNICEF UNINTENDED PREGNANCY UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND WAGE DIFFERENCES WAGE GAP WORKFORCE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION YOUNG ADULTS YOUNG FEMALES YOUNG GIRLS YOUNG MEN YOUNG MOTHER YOUNG MOTHERS YOUNG PEOPLE YOUNG WOMEN YOUTH YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Although girls are approximately half the youth population in developing countries, they contribute less than their potential to the economy. The objective of this paper is to quantify the opportunity cost of girls' exclusion from productive employment with the hope that stark figures will lead policymakers to reconsider the current underinvestment in girls. The paper explores the linkages between investing in girls and potential increases in national income by examining three widely prevalent aspects of adolescent girls' lives: early school dropout, teenage pregnancy and joblessness. The countries included in the analysis are: Bangladesh, Brazil, Burundi, China, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Paraguay, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The authors use secondary data to allow for some comparability across countries. They find that investing in girls so that they would complete the next level of education would lead to lifetime earnings of today's cohort of girls that is equivalent to up to 68 percent of annual gross domestic product. When adjusting for ability bias and labor demand elasticities, this figure falls to 54 percent, or 1.5 percent per year. Closing the inactivity rate between girls and boys would increase gross domestic product by up to 5.4 percent, but when accounting for students, male-female wage gaps and labor demand elasticities, the joblessness gap between girls and their male counterparts yields an increase in gross domestic product of up to 1.2 percent in a single year. The cost of adolescent pregnancy as a share of gross domestic could be as high as 30 percent or as low as 1 percent over a girl's lifetime, depending on the assumptions used to calculate the losses. 2012-03-19T18:03:50Z 2012-03-19T18:03:50Z 2011-08-01 http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110808092702 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3514 English Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5753 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper The World Region The World Region