THE IMPACT FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS AND COST OF LIVING FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE: A CASE STUDY OF QUETTA CITY

 Salma Khan¹, Abdul Salam Lodhi² and Lubna Naz³

¹Department of Economics, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University Quetta (SBKWU), Pakistan

²Department of Economics, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) Quetta, Pakistan

³Dr., Department of Economics, University of Karachi, Pakistan

 

Abstract

This paper attempts to find the effect of financial constraints and cost of living on the female participation in labor force. Adult females who have attained at least their bachelor’s degree were included in the sample taken from the population of educated women residing in Quetta city. Women were enquired about their age and marital status in the beginning along with their general household information. Data from 250 respondents was collected from women participating in different labor force activities in the city using simple random technique of sampling. The data was analyzed by using STATA software for binomial logit regression model and SPSS software was for used for descriptive analysis of data. The findings of the study revealed that both variables financial constraints and cost of living have a strong positive impact on the response variable as it is these variables which are responsible for allowing females to join labor force and become a support to their household members in reducing the household expenditure burdens. Therefore the results indicate that the more the women are given opportunities the more they will be able to cope with the financial and cost constraints within the family setup. In the end policy measures have also been given to increase the participation of females in labor force in the city.

Keywords: Female labor force participation; Quetta; financial constraints and cost of living.