Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T20:10:27.341Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Empowering Women through Development Aid: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Afghanistan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2013

ANDREW BEATH ,
FOTINI CHRISTIA  and
RUBEN ENIKOLOPOV
ANDREW BEATH*
Affiliation:
World Bank
FOTINI CHRISTIA*
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
RUBEN ENIKOLOPOV*
Affiliation:
New Economic School
*
Andrew Beath is Economist, Office of the Chief Economist for East Asia and the Pacific, World Bank ([email protected]).
Fotini Christia is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ([email protected]).
Ruben Enikolopov is Assistant Professor, New Economic School ([email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In societies with widespread gender discrimination, development programs with gender quotas are considered a way to improve women's economic, political, and social status. Using a randomized field experiment across 500 Afghan villages, we examine the effects of a development program that mandates female participation. We find that even in a highly conservative context like Afghanistan, such initiatives improve outcomes specific to female participation in some economic, social, and political activities, including increased mobility and income generation. They, however, produce no change in more entrenched female roles linked to family decision-making or in attitudes toward the general role of women in society.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 107 , Issue 3 , August 2013 , pp. 540 - 557
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Akerlof, G., and Kranton, R.. 2000. “Economics and Identity.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 115 (3): 715–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arab Human Development Report. 2005. Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World. United New York: Nations Development Programme.Google Scholar
Azarbaijani-Moghaddam, S. 2010. If Anyone Listens, I Have a Lot of Plans: A Study of Gender Equity through the National Solidarity Programme's Community Development Councils. Danish Committee for Aid to Kabul: Afghan Refugees (DACAAR).Google Scholar
Barfield, T. 1984. Weak Links on a Rusty Chain: Structural Weaknesses in Afghanistan's Provincial Government Administration. Berkeley, CA: Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Beaman, L., Duflo, E., Chattopadhyay, R., Pande, R., and Topalova, P.. 2009. “Powerful Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias?” Quarterly Journal of Economics 124 (4): 1497–540.Google Scholar
Beath, A., Christia, F., Enikolopov, R., and Kabuli, S.. 2010. Estimates of Interim Impact from First Follow-Up Survey—Randomized Impact Evaluation of Phase-II of Afghanistan's National Solidarity Programme (NSP). Kabul: World Bank.Google Scholar
Beath, A., Christia, F., and Enikolopov, R.. 2012. “Winning Hearts and Minds through Development Aid: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Afghanistan.” MIT Working Paper.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beath, A., Christia, F., Egorov, G., and Enikolopov, R.. 2013. “Electoral Rules and the Quality of Politicians: Theory and Evidence from a Field Experiment.” MIT Working Paper.Google Scholar
Beath, A., Christia, F., and Enikolopov, R.. 2013. “Direct Democracy and Resource Allocation: Experimental Evience from Afghanistan.” MIT Working Paper.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhavnani, R. 2009. “Do Electoral Quotas Work After They Are Withdrawn? Evidence from A Natural Experiment in India.” American Political Science Review 103 (1): 23–35.Google Scholar
Blaydes, L. 2010. “How Does Islamist Local Governance Aect the Lives of Women? A Comparative Study of Two Cairo Neighborhoods.” Working Paper.Google Scholar
Blaydes, L., and Drew, L.. 2008. “The Political Economy of Women's Support for Fundamentalist Islam.” World Politics 60 (4): 576–609.Google Scholar
Boesen, I. 2004. “From Subjects to Citizens: Local Participation in the National Solidarity Programme.” AREU Working Paper Series.Google Scholar
Brick, J. 2008c. Investigating the Sustainability of Community Development Councils in Afghanistan. Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit.Google Scholar
Bruhn, M., and McKenzie, D.. 2009. “In Pursuit of Balance: Randomization in Practice in Development Field Experiments.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 1 (4): 200–32.Google Scholar
Chattopadhyay, R., and Duflo, E.. 2004. “Women as Policy Makers: Evidence from a Randomized Policy Experiment in India.” Econometrica 72 (5): 1409–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clots-Figueras, I. 2011. “Women in Politics. Evidence from the Indian States.” Journal of Public Economics 95: 664–90.Google Scholar
Clots-Figueras, I. 2012. “Are Female Leaders Good for education? Evidence from India.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 4 (1): 212–44.Google Scholar
Dahlerup, D. 2010. “Women in Arab Parliaments: Can Gender Quotas Contribute to Democratization Al-raida: Issue 126–127, 28–38 Journal published by The Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World. Lebanese American University.Google Scholar
Dahlerup, D., and Freidenvall, L.. 2010. “Judging Gender Quotas—Predictions and Results.” Policy & Politics 38 (3): 407–25, July.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duflo, E. 2011. “Women's Empowerment and Economic Developoment.” Working Paper.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duflo, E., and Udry, C.. 2004. “Intra-household Resource Allocation in Cote d'Ivoire: Social Norms, Separate Accounts and Consumption Choices.” NBER Working Paper No. 10498.Google Scholar
Duflo, E., and Topalova, P.. 2004. “Unappreciated Service: Performance, Perceptions and Women Leaders in India.” Working Paper: MIT.Google Scholar
Eagly, A., and Karau, S.. 2002. “Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice toward Female Leaders.” Psychological Review 109: 573–98.Google Scholar
Echavez, C. 2010. “Does Women's Participation in the National Solidarity Programme Make a Difference in their Lives?: A Case Study in Parwan Province.” Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit Case Study Series (October).Google Scholar
Echavez, C. 2012a. “Does Women's Participation in the National Solidarity Programme Make a Difference in their Lives? A Case Study in Balkh Province.” Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit Case Study Series (March).Google Scholar
Echavez, C. 2012b. “Gender and Economic Choice: What's Old and What's New for Women in Afghanistan.” Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit (March).Google Scholar
Echavez, C. 2012c. “Does Women's Participation in the National Solidarity Programme Make a Difference in their Lives? A Case Study in Kabul Province.” Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit Case Study Series (April).Google Scholar
Echavez, C., and Zand, S.. 2012. “The Impact of Microfinance Programmes on Women's Lives: A Case Study in Balkh Province.” Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit Case Study Series (June).Google Scholar
Eckel, C., and Grossman, P.. 1998. “Are Women less Selfish than Men?: Evidence from Dictator Experiments.” Economic Journal 108 (448): 726–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferreira, F., and Gyourko, J.. 2011. “Does Gender Matter for Political Leadership? The Case of U.S. Mayors.” Working Paper.Google Scholar
Field, E., Jayachandran, S., and Pande, R.. 2010. “Do Traditional Institutions Constrain Female Entrepreneurship? A Field Experiment on Business Training in India.” American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings. 100: 125–9.Google Scholar
Fish, M. 2002. “Islam and Authoritarianism.” World Politics 55 (1): 4–37.Google Scholar
Goldstein, M., and Udry, C.. 2005. “The Profits of Power: Land Rights and Agricultural Investment in Ghana.” Working Paper: Yale University.Google Scholar
Grace, J. 2005. “Who Owns the Farm? Rural Women's Access to Land and Livestock.” Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit (February).Google Scholar
Inglehart, R., and Norris, P.. 2003. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kakar, P. 2005. “Fine-Tuning the NSP: Discussions of Problems and Solutions with Facilitating Partners.” AREU Working Paper.Google Scholar
King, G., Gakidou, E., Ravishankar, N., Moore, R. T., Lakin, J., Vargas, M., Téllez-Rojo, M. M., Hernández Ávila, J. E., Hernández Ávila, M., and Hernández Llamas, H.. 2007. “A ‘Politically Robust’ Experimental Design for Public Policy Evaluation, with Application to the Mexican Universal Health Insurance Program.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 26: 479–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kang, A. 2009. “Studying Oil, Islam, and Women as if Political Institutions Mattered.” Politics & Gender 5 (4): 560–68.Google Scholar
Kling, J., Liebman, J., and Katz, L.. 2007 “Experimental Analysis of Neighborhood Effects.” Econometrica 75: 83–119.Google Scholar
Krook, M., and O'Brien, D. Z.. 2010. “The Politics of Group Representation: Quotas for Women and Minorities Worldwide.” Comparative Politics 42 (3): 253–72.Google Scholar
Kuran, T. 2004. “Why the Middle East Is Economically Underdeveloped.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 18: 71–90.Google Scholar
Kuran, T. 2010. “The Scale of Entrepreneurship in Middle Eastern History: Inhibitive Roles of Islamic Institutions.” In Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship in Economic History, eds. Baumol, W., Landes, D., and Mokyr, J.. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 62–87.Google Scholar
McCleary, R., and Barro, R.. 2006. “Religion and Economics.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20 (2): 49–72.Google Scholar
Nojumi, N., Mazurana, D., and Stites, E.. 2004. Afghanistan's Systems of Justice: Formal, Traditional, and Customary. Working Paper: Feinstein International Famine Center, Youth and Community Program, Tufts University.Google Scholar
Rahmani, A. 2006. The Role of Religious Institutions in Community Governance Affairs: How are Communities Governed Beyond the District Level? Budapest, Hungary: Open Society Institute, Central European University Center for Policy Studies.Google Scholar
Rehavi, M. M. 2007. “Sex and Politics: Do Female Legislators Affect State Spending?” Mimeo, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Ross, M. 2008. “Oil, Islam, and Women,” American Political Science Review 102 (1): 107–23.Google Scholar
Tripp, A., and Kang, A.. 2008. “The Global Impact of Quotas.” Comparative Political Studies 41 (3): 338–61.Google Scholar
Udry, C. 1996. “Gender, Agricultural Production, and the Theory of the Household,” Journal of Political Economy, 101 (5): 1010–45.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2012. World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development. World Bank: Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Zand, S. 2010. “The Impact of Microfinance Programmes on Women's Lives: A Case Study in Parwan Province.” Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit Case Study Series (September).Google Scholar
Zand, S. 2011. “The Impact of Microfinance Programmes on Women's Lives: A Case Study in Kabul Province,” Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit Case Study Series (July).Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

BEATH et al. supplementary material

Appendix

Download BEATH et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 234.3 KB
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.