An Analysis of the Impact of Environmental Degradation On Female Health Status and Their Labor Force Participation Rate in Urban India: A Simultaneous Panel Approach

Abstract

The contributions of this chapter are to establish (a) simultaneous dependence between female labor force participation rate (FLFPR) and their health status measured by the life expectancy; (b) the roles of (i) air pollutants in explaining female life expectancy (FLE); and (ii) joint interactions of different explanatory variables in determining both FLFPR and FLE, by estimating a simultaneous panel model comprising equations of FLFPR and FLE, using Baltagi’s Instrumental-Variable EC2SLS method and 13 major Indian state-level data for urban sector, over 2004–2005 to 2011–2012. The air pollutants (measured by prevalence of SO₂ and NO₂) have significant negative impacts on FLE. The interaction effect of air pollutants with economic growth on FLE is negative implying that the partial effect of a change in growth depends on air pollution level. FLFPR can be improved by reducing air pollution through health, as FLE significantly affects FLFPR positively. The roles of other socioeconomic variables affecting FLFPR and FLE are also evident.

Citation

Banerjee, K. and Ghose, A. (2022), "An Analysis of the Impact of Environmental Degradation On Female Health Status and Their Labor Force Participation Rate in Urban India: A Simultaneous Panel Approach", Chakraborty, C. and Pal, D. (Ed.) Environmental Sustainability, Growth Trajectory and Gender: Contemporary Issues of Developing Economies, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 267-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-153-220221021