Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T08:38:25.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Do Women Favor Foreign Direct Investment?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2019

Chia-yi Lee
Affiliation:
Nanyang Technological University
Mi Jeong Shin
Affiliation:
Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

Abstract

Although some studies show that women are more likely to oppose free trade than men, others demonstrate that economic globalization empowers women. Given this paradox, we examine whether gender shapes individual preferences with respect to foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries. We hypothesize that women do not disfavor FDI more than men because multinational corporations (MNCs) bring more jobs for women, provide better working conditions and higher wages than domestic firms, and spread norms and values that favor gender equality. Moreover, this gender gap will be wider in more globalized countries because women can observe such benefits of MNCs. To test our arguments, we used survey data from the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project. Overall, women view FDI more positively than men, and this effect is stronger in economically more globalized countries and countries that are less dependent on agriculture. Women have a different view on FDI than that on trade.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2019

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

Agresti, Alan, and Agresti, Barbara F.. 2008. Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Ahmed, Faisal Z., Bastiaens, Ida, and Johnston, Noel P.. 2015. “FDI, Global Attitudes, and the Fallacy of Composition.” Oxford: BSG Working Papers.Google Scholar
Anderson, Christopher J. 2007. “The End of Economic Voting? Contingency Dilemmas and the Limits of Democratic Accountability.” Annual Review of Political Science 10 (1): 271–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beer, Caroline. 2009. “Democracy and Gender Equality.” Studies in Comparative International Development 44 (3): 212–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhagwati, Jagdish. 2004. In Defense of Globalization: with a New Afterword. New York and London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Blanton, Robert G., and Blanton, Shannon Lindsey. 2015. “Is Foreign Direct Investment ‘Gender Blind’? Women's Rights as a Determinant of US FDI.” Feminist Economics 21 (4): 6188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, Pazit Ben-Nun, Gilad, Sharon, and Freedman, Michael. 2017. “Does Exposure to Other Cultures Affect the Impact of Economic Globalization on Gender Equality?International Political Science Review 38 (3): 378–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Box-Steffensmeier, J. M., De Boef, S., and Lin, T. M.. 2004. “The Dynamics of the Partisan Gender Gap.” American Political Science Review 98 (3): 515–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braunstein, Elissa. 2002. “Gender, GDI and Women's Autonomy: A Research Note on Empirical Analysis.” Presented at the Conference on Trade Liberalization and Reproductive Health Linkage, International Center for Research on Women, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Braunstein, Elissa. 2006. “Foreign Direct Investment, Development and Gender Equality: A Review of Research and Policy.” Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.Google Scholar
Broz, Lawrence, Frieden, Jeffry, and Weymouth, Stephen. 2008. “Exchange Rate Policy Attitudes: Direct Evidence from Survey Data.” Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgoon, Brian, and Hiscox, Michael J.. 2008. “The Gender Divide over International Trade: Why Do Men and Women Have Different Views about Openness to the World Economy?” Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Büthe, Tim, and Milner, Helen V.. 2008. “The Politics of Foreign Direct Investment into Developing Countries: Increasing FDI through International Trade Agreements?American Journal of Political Science 52 (4): 741–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chaudhuri, Sarbajit, and Mukhopadhyay, Ujjaini. 2014. “FDI and Gender Wage Inequality.” In Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries, 139–60. Chennai: Springer India.Google Scholar
Cinar, Kursat, and Ugur-Cinar, Meral. 2018. “What the City Has to Offer: Urbanization and Women's Empowerment in Turkey.” Politics & Gender 14 (2): 235–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, H. D., Stewart, M. C., Ault, M., and Elliott, E.. 2005. “Men, Women and the Dynamics of Presidential Approval.” British Journal of Political Science 35 (January): 3151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davin, Delia. 2001. “The Impact of Export-Oriented Manufacturing on Chinese Women Workers.” Prepared for United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) Project on Globalization, Export-Oriented Employment for Women and Social Policy, UNRISD, Geneva.Google Scholar
Del Monte, Alfredo, and Papagni, Erasmo. 2007. “The Determinants of Corruption in Italy: Regional Panel Data Analysis.” European Journal of Political Economy 23 (2): 379–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreher, Axel. 2006. “Does Globalization Affect Growth? Evidence from A New Index of Globalization.” Applied Economics 38 (10): 1091–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreher, Axel, Gaston, Noel, and Martens, Pim. 2008. Measuring Globalization: Gauging Its Consequences. New York: Springer Science & Business Media.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fontana, Marzia, and Wood, Adrian. 2000. “Modeling the Effects of Trade on Women, at Work and at Home.” World Development 28 (7): 1173–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gidengil, Elisabeth. 1995. “Economic Man—Social Woman? The Case of the Gender Gap in Support for the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement.” Comparative Political Studies 28 (3): 384408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, M. M., Kittilson, M. C., and Sandholtz, W.. 2006. “Women and Globalization: A Study of 180 Countries, 1975–2000.” International Organization 60 (2): 293333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenhill, Brian. 2010. “The Company You Keep: International Socialization and the Diffusion of Human Rights Norms.” International Studies Quarterly 54 (1): 127–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenhill, Brian, Mosley, Layna, and Prakash, Aseem. 2009. “Trade-Based Diffusion of Labor Rights: A Panel Study, 1986–2002.” American Political Science Review 103 (4): 669–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guisinger, Alexandra. 2009. “Determining Trade Policy: Do Voters Hold Politicians Accountable?International Organization 63 (July): 533–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guisinger, Alexandra. 2016. “Information, Gender, and Differences in Individual Preferences for Trade.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 37 (4): 538–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hainmueller, Jens, and Hiscox, Michael J.. 2006. “Learning to Love Globalization: Education and Individual Attitudes toward International Trade.” International Organization 60 (2): 469–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanmer, Michael J., and Kalkan, Kerem Ozan. 2013. “Behind the Curve: Clarifying the Best Approach to Calculating Predicted Probabilities and Marginal Effects from Limited Dependent Variable Models.” American Journal of Political Science 57 (1): 263–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iversen, Torben, and Rosenbluth, Frances. 2006. “The Political Economy of Gender: Explaining Cross-National Variation in the Gender Division of Labor and the Gender Voting Gap.” American Journal of Political Science 50 (1): 119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, Nathan. 2003. “Democratic Governance and Multinational Corporations: Political Regimes and Inflows of Foreign Direct Investment.” International Organization 57 (3): 587616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kam, Cindy D. 2009. “Gender and Economic Voting, Revisited.” Electoral Studies 28 (4): 615–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Quan, and Resnick, Adam. 2003.”Reversal of Fortunes: Democratic Institutions and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows to Developing Countries.” International Organization 57: 175-211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lise, Wietze. 2006. “Decomposition of CO2 Emissions over 1980–2003 in Turkey.” Energy Policy 34 (14): 18411852.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, Xiaobo, Scheve, Kenneth, and Slaughter, Matthew J.. 2012. “Inequity Aversion and the International Distribution of Trade Protection.” American Journal of Political Science 56 (3): 638–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayda, Maria, and Rodrik, Dani. 2005. “Why Are Some People (and Countries) More Protectionist Than Others? European Economic Review 49 (6): 1393–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansfield, Edward D., and Mutz, Diana C.. 2009. “Support for Free Trade: Self-Interest, Sociotropic Politics, and Out-Group Anxiety.” International Organization 63 (3): 425–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansfield, Edward D., Mutz, Diana C., and Silver, Laura R.. 2015. “Men, Women, Trade, and Free Markets.” International Studies Quarterly 59 (2): 303–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mosley, Layna, and Uno, Saika. 2007. “Racing to the Bottom or Climbing to the Top? Economic Globalization and Collective Labor Rights.” Comparative Political Studies 40 (8): 923–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neumayer, Eric, and de Soysa, Indra. 2007. “Globalization, Women's Economic Rights and Forced Labour.” World Economy 30 (10): 1510–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neumayer, Eric, and de Soysa, Indra. 2011. “Globalization and the Empowerment of Women: An Analysis of Spatial Dependence via Trade and Foreign Direct Investment.” World Development 39 (7): 1065–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2002. Trends and Recent Development in Foreign Direct Investment. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Oostendorp, Remco H. 2009. “Globalization and the Gender Wage Gap.” World Bank Economic Review 23 (1): 141–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ozler, Sule. 2000. “Export Orientation and Female Share of Employment: Evidence from Turkey.” World Development 28 (7): 1239–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pandya, Sonal S. 2010. “Labor Markets and the Demand for Foreign Direct Investment.” International Organization 64 (3): 389409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pevehouse, Jon C. 2002. “Democracy from the Outside-In? International Organizations and Democratization.” International Organization 56 (3): 515–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potrafke, Niklas, and Ursprung, Heinrich W.. 2012. “Globalization and Gender Equality in the Course of Development.” European Journal of Political Economy 28 (4): 399413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, David L., and Gelleny, Ronald. 2007. “Women's Status and Economic Globalization.” International Studies Quarterly 51 (4): 855–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, Michael L. 2008. “Oil, Islam, and Women.” American Political Science Review 102 (1): 107–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheve, Kenneth F., and Slaughter, Matthew J.. 2001. “What Determines Individual-Trade Policy Preferences?Journal of International Economics 54:267–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheve, Kenneth F., and Slaughter, Matthew J.. 2004. “Economic Insecurity and the Globalization of Production.” American Journal of Political Science 48 (4): 662–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmons, A. Beth and Elkins, Zachary. 2004. “The Globalization of Liberalization: Policy Diffusion in the International Political Economy.” American Political Science Review 98 (1): 171–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spilker, Gabriele, and Schaffer, Lena Maria. 2016. “Adding Another Level: Individual Responses to Globalization and Government Welfare Policies.” Political Science Research and Methods 4 (2): 399426.Google Scholar
Strom, Marte. 2014. “How Husbands and Wives Vote.” Electoral Studies 35 (September): 215–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thevenon, Oliver. 2013. “Policy Drivers of Female Labour Force Participation in OECD countries.” In OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, 14. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 2002. World Investment Report. New York and Geneva: United Nations.Google Scholar
Van Erkel, Patrick F. A., and Van Der Meer, Tom W. G.. 2016. “Macroeconomic Performance, Political Trust and the Great Recession: A Multilevel Analysis of the Effects of Within-Country Fluctuations in Macroeconomic Performance on Political Trust in 15 EU Countries, 1999–2011.” European Journal of Political Research 55 (1): 177–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weldon, Steven A. 2006. “The Institutional Context of Tolerance for Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative, Multilevel Analysis of Western Europe.” American Journal of Political Science 50 (2): 331–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westbrook, Laurel, and Saperstein, Aliya. 2015. “New Categories Are Not Enough: Rethinking the Measurement of ex and Gender in Social Surveys.” Gender and Society 29 (4): 534–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woo, Byungwon, and Payton, Autumn Lockwood. 2014. “Attracting Investment: Governments’ Strategic Role in Labor Rights Protection.” International Studies Quarterly 58 (3): 462–74.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Lee and Shin supplementary material

Online Appendix

Download Lee and Shin supplementary material(File)
File 45.5 KB