Women's Political Empowerment and Sustainable Manufacturing Growth: The Moderating Role of Institutional Quality in Achieving SDGs in South Asia

ABSTRACT Although women's political empowerment (WPE) is widely regarded as a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable development, its contribution to sustainable manufacturing growth (SMG) remains unclear, particularly in South Asia where institutional capacity differs considerably across countries. This study examines the relationship between WPE and SMG while investigating whether institutional quality (INQ) shapes this relationship. Using annual data from 2000 to 2024, the analysis employs the Bai FM and CupBC long‐run estimators to account for cross‐sectional dependence and unobserved common factors. Driscoll and Kraay standard errors are further applied to verify the robustness of the estimated relationships. The findings show that WPE is negatively associated with SMG when assessed independently. In contrast, INQ has a positive effect on SMG. More importantly, the positive interaction between WPE and INQ indicates that stronger institutions enable political inclusion to generate meaningful industrial gains. These findings suggest that expanding women's political representation alone is unlikely to strengthen sustainable manufacturing without effective governance, transparent institutions, and consistent policy implementation. By identifying INQ as the mechanism through which WPE influences manufacturing performance, this study offers a new perspective on the institutional conditions required for sustainable industrial development. The findings provide relevant policy insights for advancing Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 9 across South Asian economies.