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

Andrew Beath, Fotini Christia () and Ruben Enikolopov
Additional contact information
Fotini Christia: Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

No w0191, Working Papers from Center for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR)

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 women’s community participation. We find that even in a highly conservative context like Afghanistan, such initiatives improve 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 towards the general role of women in society.

Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2013-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa, nep-dem, nep-dev and nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (60)

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http://www.cefir.ru/papers/WP191.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Empowering Women through Development Aid: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Afghanistan (2013)
Working Paper: Empowering Women through Development Aid: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Afghanistan (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cfr:cefirw:w0191

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