Gender Inequality and Human Development in India: An Empirical Analysis

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of gender inequality on human well‐being in India, utilizing annual time series data from 1990 to 2019. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is used to analyze both short‐ and long‐run relationships, and the results' robustness is confirmed using the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) approach. The findings show that gender inequality has a considerable and detrimental impact on human well‐being, both in the short and long term. In contrast, trade openness, economic growth, and population growth all enhance human well‐being; however, foreign direct investment (FDI) has a detrimental long‐term impact. Diagnostic tests demonstrate the model's validity and absence of misspecification concerns. The investigation emphasizes the necessity of policies that promote gender equality, inclusive economic growth, and an equitable distribution of foreign investment. These findings have major policy implications, particularly for meeting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of gender equality, economic growth, and reduced inequality.