Measuring the Contribution of Unpaid Female Labour in National Income of India

Research papers on female labour force participation (FLFP) are neither rare nor uncommon. However, papers measuring unpaid female labour are not many. This paper estimates the increase in gross domestic product (GDP) due to an increase in FLFP using two rounds of data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of India. To show the effect of including female workers who are out of the labour force on the national income of the country, I adopt the method of imputing incomes for women not in employment, accounting for two scenarios: (a) without work and without a child and (b) without work and with a child. The estimates from our sample suggest an increase of 31% in total income earned if women who are out of the labour force are employed gainfully. Moreover, increasing participation of women aged 36–55 could make a substantial contribution towards reducing the gap between per capita income of India at present and the target it has set to achieve. JEL Classifications: J01, J21, J22, J12