Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

2026

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Economics

First Advisor

Oscar Sarasty Miranda

Abstract

Female labor force participation (FLFP) in Bangladesh has increased from 29.2% in 2005–06 to 42.8% in 2022, raising important questions about household resource allocation. This study examines the impact of female employment on household expenditure patterns and challenges the traditional unitary model of decision-making. It focuses on how income controlled by women influences spending across essential and non-essential categories. The analysis uses data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. This research employs Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SURE) approach to estimate budget shares for food, housing, health, education, clothing, and transport. The study further disaggregates the sample by income quintiles to capture variation across household wealth levels. The results show complex and non-linear consumption patterns. For the overall sample, female labor participation is associated with a statistically significant decrease in the budget share for health and an increase in the share for clothing. Quintile-based analysis reveals heterogeneous effects. In middle-income households (Quintile 3), female employment increases health expenditure, indicating greater investment in family well-being. In contrast, in high-income households (Quintile 5), it significantly increases clothing expenditure, suggesting a shift toward discretionary or personal consumption as financial constraints ease. These findings indicate that the effects of female economic empowerment depend on initial income levels. The decline in health expenditure in the aggregate sample and the increase in clothing expenditure in higher-income households provide new evidence on the “female preference” hypothesis in Bangladesh. The study concludes that gender-sensitive policies should account for income-based differences to effectively utilize female labor participation for broader social and human capital development.

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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Rights Statement

In Copyright