Female Labor Force Participation, Inequality, and Economic Growth in an Aging Society: Evidence from Mexico

Ivan Mejia, Researcher-Consultant
Estela Rivero, Independent Researcher
Isalia Nava, UNAM

The agenda for Sustainable Development aims for significant progress in reducing inequalities across population groups by 2030. Keeping this goal in mind, we leverage recent literature on the demographic dividend to examine how changes in female labor participation and educational expansion impact Mexico’s demographic dividend. Using age-specific profiles of labor income and consumption, disaggregated by gender and educational level, derived from National Transfer Accounts and National Time Transfer Accounts methods, we analyze the separate effects of age, sex, and education on the demographic dividend. Our hypothesis suggests that low education levels have detrimental effects on productivity and economic growth, regardless of income distribution by gender. However, realizing the full potential of the demographic dividend requires higher female labor participation and education levels, helping to counteract the negative effects of population aging.

Keywords: Decomposition analysis, Economic Demography, Human Capital, Education, and Work, Gender Dynamics

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