The role of gender empowerment on income inequality in Indonesia: Evidence from panel data
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12928/optimum.v15i2.13310Keywords:
Inequality, Gender empowerment index, Human development index, Poverty, Domestic invesmentAbstract
Income inequality in Indonesia, remains as a serious global issue. This study is driven by the existing inter-regional disparities and the limited integration of gender indicators in inequality analysis, particularly across all provinces in Indonesia. The issue of income distribution inequality is certainly influenced by various factors. This study was conducted with the aim of understanding the effect of the Gender Empowerment Index (GEI), Human Development Index (HDI), poverty, and Domestic Investment (DI) on income inequality in Indonesia. The data in this study is secondary panel data sourced from the Central Bureau of Statistics, covering 34 provinces over the 2015-2023 period. The research method is the fixed effects model. The findings indicate that GEI does not have a statistically significant impact. On the contrary, HDI has a significant negative effect, while poverty and domestic investment have a significant positive effect on income distribution inequality. These findings highlight the need for inclusive human development policies, equitable investment distribution, and targeted poverty reduction strategies. This study also contributes by providing evidence-based recommendations to reduce interprovincial disparities in Indonesia and strengthen discussions on more equitable and fair policies.
References
Aqilah, M. R., Muchtar, M., & Robinson Sihombing, P. (2024). Analisis determinan ketimpangan pendapatan di pulau Sumatera. Journal of Law, Administration, and Social Science, 4(1), 13-24. https://doi.org/10.54957/jolas.v4i1.684
Amponsah, M., Agbola, F. W., & Mahmood, A. (2023). The relationship between poverty, income inequality and inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Economic Modelling, 126(October 2022), 106415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2023.106415
Bahmani-Oskooee, M., & Ardakani, A. (2020). Does GINI respond to income volatility in an asymmetric manner? Evidence from 41 countries. Economic Systems, 44(2), 100756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2020.100756
Baltagi, B. H. (2005). Econometric Analysis of Panel Data (3rd ed.). In John Wiley & Sons.
Clementi, F. (2024). Income Distribution, inequality and poverty: Evidence, Explanations and policies. Economies, 12(10), 10-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12100276
Day, C. (2022). Increasing inequality and voting for basic income: Could gender inequality worsen? Economic Analysis and Policy, 76, 476-487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2022.08.012
Dupont, C., & Roy, D. (2024). Emergent poverty traps and inequality at multiple levels impedes social mobility. General Economics, 1-39.
Espa, V., Suratman, E., & Wahyudi. (2025). Empirical investigation on sectoral inequality, gender empowerment, education, and income inequality in Indonesia: Dynamic panel approach. Asian Development Policy Review, 13(1), 25-37. https://doi.org/10.55493/5008.v13i1.5245
Febriyani, A., & Anis, A. (2021). Pengaruh pertumbuhan ekonomi, investasi dan indeks pembangunan manusia terhadap ketimpangan distribusi pendapatan di Indonesia. Jurnal Kajian Ekonomi Dan Pembangunan, 3(4), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.24036/jkep.v3i4.12375
Ghifara, A. S., Iman, A. N., Wardhana, A. K., Rusgianto, S., & Ratnasari, R. T. (2022). The effect of economic growth, government spending, and human development index toward inequality of income distribution in the metropolitan cities in Indonesia. Daengku: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Innovation, 2(4), 529-536. https://doi.org/10.35877/454RI.daengku1092
Gonzales, C., Jain-Chandra, S., Kochhar, K., Newiak, M., & Zeinullayev, T. (2015). Catalyst for change: Empowering women and tackling income inequality. Staff Discussion Notes, 15(20), 1-42. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513533384.006
Hindun, H., Soejoto, A., & Hariyati, H. (2019). Pengaruh pendidikan, pengangguran, dan kemiskinan terhadap ketimpangan pendapatan di Indonesia. Jurnal Ekonomi Bisnis Dan Kewirausahaan, 8(3), 250-265. https://doi.org/10.26418/jebik.v8i3.34721
Hortas-Rico, M., & Rios, Vicente (2022). Does women's political empowerment matter for income inequality? Gen Working Paper A-6. Governance and Economics Research Network. Universita de Vigo.
Huda, N. (2023). Pengaruh antara kemiskinan dan investasi terhadap ketimpangan. Jurnal Ekonomi Manajemen Dan Sekretari, 8(2), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.35870/jemensri.v8i2.3037
Ilyasa, W. N., Kurniawan, M. L. A., Lubis, F. R. A., & Salim, A. (2025). The role of credit for poverty alleviation in Indonesia: Evidence from panel data analysis. IJBE (Integrated Journal of Business and Economics), 9(2), 203-217. https://doi.org/10.33019/ijbe.v9i2.1101
Juniati, W., Abdullah, M. L., & Wibowo, M. G. (2022). Determinants of income inequality villages and cities in Indonesia. Journal of Developing Economies, 7(2), 266-279. https://doi.org/10.20473/jde.v7i2.33980
Karimi, K., Mulyani, P., Murialti, N., & Tibrani, T. (2023). Pengaruh penanaman modal asing, indeks persepsi korupsi, kemiskinan, pengangguran dan upah minimum terhadap ketimpangan pendapatan di Indonesia. Jurnal Akuntansi Dan Ekonomika, 13(1), 107-116. https://doi.org/10.37859/jae.v13i1.4775
Kunenengan, R. M. A., Engka, D. S. M., & Rorong, I. P. F. (2023). Pengaruh pertumbuhan ekonomi dan kemiskinan terhadap ketimpangan pendapatan lima Kabupaten/Kota di Bolaang Mongondow Provinsi Sulawesi Selatan. Jurnal Berkala Ilmiah Efisien, 23(3), 133-144.
Mdingi, K., & Ho, S. Y. (2021). Literature review on income inequality and economic growth. Methods X, 8(April), 101402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2021.101402
Moyo, C., Mishi, S., & Ncwadi, R. (2022). Human capital development, poverty and income inequality in the Eastern Cape province. Development Studies Research, 9(1), 36-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/21665095.2022.2032236
Muryani, Miguel Angel Esquivias, Sethi, N., & Iswanti, H. (2021). Dynamics of income inequality, investment, and unemployment in Indonesia. Journal of Population and Social Studies, 19(29), 660-678. https://doi.org/10.25133/JPSSv292021.040
Napitupulu, R. B. T. P. S. (2017). Penelitian Bisnis : Teknik dan Analisis Data dengan SPSS - STATA - EVIEWS, Edisi 1. MADENATERA. Medan.
Nga-Ndjobo, P. M., & Ngah Otabela, N. (2023). Can income inequality be affected by the interaction between icts and human capital?: the evidence from developing countries. Journal of Quantitative Economics, 21(1), 235-264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40953-022-00336-5
Rachmawatie, D., & Prakoso, A. Y. (2023). The influence of human development index on the income distribution inequality in Yogyakarta. Jambura Agribusiness Journal, 4(2), 67-75. https://doi.org/10.37046/jaj.v4i2.13911
Ramdani, M. (2015). Determinan kemiskinan di Indonesia Tahun 1982-2012. Economics Development Analysis Journal, 4(1), 58-64.
Robiansyah, A., Hartono, D., Tampubolon, E. G., Zubir, E., Sukatmi, S., & Kharis, S. A. A. (2024). Pemberdayaan Gender, pembangunan gender, belanja pemerintah dan pertumbuhan ekonomi: Pendekatan data panel. AKADEMIK: Jurnal Mahasiswa Ekonomi & Bisnis, 4(2), 525-533. https://doi.org/10.37481/jmeb.v4i2.748
Shen, C., & Zhao, X. (2023). How does income inequality affects economic growth at different income levels? Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 36(1), 864-884. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2080742
Shin, I. (2024). The effects of pandemics on income inequality: Visualizing a theoretical analysis. Economic Modelling, 133(February), 106671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2024.106671
Singagerda, F. S. (2019). Model Regresi Data Panel dan Aplikasi Eviews. Publisher Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.31227/osf.io/vkx2t
Suryani, K. G., & Woyanti, N. (2021). The Effect of economic growth, hdi, district/city minimum wage and unemployment on inequity of income distribution in Province of D.I Yogyakarta (2010-2018). Media Ekonomi Dan Manajemen, 36(2), 170-180. https://doi.org/10.24856/mem.v36i2.1990
Syaifudin, R., Salman Alfarisi, M., Stephanie Regina Putri, G., Abdul Jabbar, M., Malik, A., & Zulfa, F. N. (2024). Determinan ketimpangan wilayah di Indonesia tahun 2012-2022: Pendekatan analisis panel dinamis. Journal of Business and Economics Research (JBE), 5(2), 129-137.
Szczepanian, M., Geise, A., & Bariyah, N. (2022). Impact of institutional determinants on income inequalities in Indonesia during the Era Reformasi. Journal of Asian Economics, 82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asieco.2022.101526
Tamrin, H. L. M., Irwan, M., & Firmansyah, M. (2023). Balancing funds, investment, length of schooling, unemployment rate and income inequality in Indonesia. Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Studies, 06(05), 1872-1883. https://doi.org/10.47191/jefms/v6-i5-04
Thye, G. L., Law, S. H., & Trinugroho, I. (2022). Human capital development and income inequality in Indonesia: Evidence from a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) analysis. Cogent Economics and Finance, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2022.2129372
Wang, C., & Naveed, A. (2021). Can women empowerment explain cross-country differences in inequality? A global perspective. In Social Indicators Research (Vol. 158, Issue 2). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02721-8
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Kuni Kurniawati, Bhimo Rizky Samudro
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
