Determinants of Female Labour Force Participation in Urban India: Does Outdoor Air Pollution Matter?

The paper contributes the literature in the following ways: (a) It establishes negative sole impact of urban outdoor air-pollution and its interaction-effect with growth, poverty, and urbanisation on female life-expectancy (FLE), hence on female labour force participation rate (FLFPR); proving the positive two-way relation between these two through estimating a simultaneous panel-model comprising equations of FLFPR and FLE, for Indian-states over the period 2017–2022. The significant impact of the interaction-effect shows partial-effect of a change in the concerned variable on FLE and on FLFPR depends on air-pollution. Thus, measures to raise growth, urbanisation or reduce poverty can improve FLE and FLFPR, provided air-pollution is mitigated. (b) Moreover, significant impact of interaction-effect of household-size and growth (Lnnsdp × HHsz) on FLFPR is supported, i.e., the impact of growth on FLFPR depends on household-size and vice-versa. A critical-level of Lnnsdp × HHsz exists; FLFPR increases/falls with Lnnsdp × HHsz according as actual Lnnsdp × HHsz is lesser/higher than critical-level. The higher sample-mean of Lnnsdp × HHsz than critical-value implies FLFPR falls with both growth and household-size, i.e. given household-size, income-effect dominates and women value leisure more. It adds the earlier inverted-U feminisation hypothesis for India investigating only sole-impact of growth on FLFPR. (c) Further, the relationship between interaction-effect of female education and household-size (Hedu × HHsz) on FLFPR is U-type, i.e., a critical level of Hedu × HHsz exists, FLFPR falls/rises with Hedu × HHsz according as actual Hedu × HHsz is lesser/higher than critical-level. The lower sample-mean of Hedu × HHsz than critical-value implies, FLFPR falls with education and household-size, i.e., female education does not necessarily imply higher FLFPR.