Economic Development and Role of Vietnamese Women in the Agriculture Sector

Abstract

The agricultural sector stands as a pivotal driver of economic progress. The heightened agricultural output of a nation serves as a robust indicator of economic expansion, given the substantial demographic reliance on food production and employment opportunities. Contributions from Vietnamese women play a crucial role in steering the country's economic trajectory, constituting a considerable portion of the labour force. Nonetheless, previous scholarly inquiries have neglected to delve into the intricate mechanisms underpinning the correlation between economic growth and the involvement of Vietnamese women in agriculture. This dearth of research has hindered comprehensive analyses aimed at elucidating the impact of women's participation in agriculture on Vietnam's economic advancement. Moreover, the deficiency in research is posited as a plausible obstacle to the full engagement of women in the agricultural sector, which in turn serves as an economic barometer. To empirically examine this relationship, a non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach is adopted, utilizing data spanning from 2000 to 2022. The empirical findings reveal significant associations between female employment in agriculture, agricultural value added, arable land, agriculture exports, population, and economic development in Vietnam. Finally, the analysis underscores the crucial implications, offers policy recommendations, and outlines future research directions aimed at discerning the substantive contribution of women in the agricultural sector.