The impact of education level and economic freedom on gender inequality: panel evidence from emerging markets

Gender equality is a critical factor for all ingredients of a healthy society and sustainable development. Therefore, measures to decrease gender inequalities in economic, social, and political life are important for the economic and social development of a society. This study analyzes the influence of education level and economic freedom on gender inequality in emerging markets over the 2000–2020 term through causality and cointegration tests. The results of the causality test uncover a bidirectional causality between education level, economic freedom, and gender inequality. In other words, there exists a mutual interaction among education level, economic freedom, and gender inequality in the short term. Furthermore, the findings of cointegration analysis indicate that education level and economic freedom have a negative impact on gender inequality in the long term, but education level is much more effective on gender inequality than economic freedom in nearly all emerging markets.