Urbanisation, Economic Development, and Feminisation of Informal Employment

Abstract

This study explores the complex relationship between the increasing proportion of women in informal employment in developing economies and the quickening pace of urbanisation. The analysis uses pooled OLS regression with interaction terms and marginal effects to investigate non-linear dynamics across GDP terciles using a panel dataset of 117 countries sourced from the International Labour Organisation and the World Bank. The findings confirm that urbanisation is positively associated with a higher share of women in the informal sector. Critically, this effect is most pronounced in low-income nations and becomes considerably weaker as GDP increases, indicating a conditional relationship influenced by economic development. In order to address the gendered precarity of work in urbanising labour markets, the results highlight the necessity of development policies that are carefully tailored to particular economic contexts.