Comparative Analysis of Labor Force Participation Rates in SAARC Countries Using Gray Relational Analysis

Abstract

The objectives of this research is to investigate the various issues that affect the rate of labor force participation in the SAARC countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The research investigates the effects of education levels, economic practices, cultural values and gender inequalities. The general structure of the research will be the review of the literature, extraction of secondary data and quantitative analysis. Through the use of Gray Relational Analysis, the study ranks these countries according to their labor force participation rates and this gives a comparative analysis of the countries in the region and their differences and similarities. The analysis has revealed that the Maldives is at the first position and Nepal is at the Eighth position. It is believed that the findings will provide useful information to policymakers to develop effective economic policies and achieve gender equality in the labor market. The study is a contribution to the further insight into the dynamics of labor force participation in South Asia and the key factors that can be used to stimulate the positive changes in labor market participation. It might only assess the SAARC countries based on the few criteria that were chosen, future research can be based on a greater number of countries with numerous different criteria.