Journal Issue: World Bank Research Observer, Volume 28, Issue 1
No Thumbnail Available
Volume
28
Number
1
Issue Date
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Journal
Journal Volume
Other issues in this volume
Journal Issue
Articles
Does Gender Inequality Hinder Development and Economic Growth? Evidence and Policy Implications
(Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2013-02) Bandiera, Oriana; Natraj, Ashwini
Does the existing evidence support policies that foster growth by reducing gender inequality? We argue that the evidence based on differences across countries is of limited use for policy design because it does not identify the causal link from inequality to growth. This, however does not imply that inequality-reducing policies are ineffective. In other words, the lack of evidence of a causal link is not in itself evidence that the causal link does not exist. Detailed micro studies that shed light on the mechanisms through which gender inequality affects development and growth are needed to inform the design of effective policies.
Intrahousehold Bargaining and Resource Allocation in Developing Countries
(Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2013-02) Doss, Cheryl
Many key development outcomes depend on women s ability to negotiate favorable intrahousehold allocations of resources. Yet it has been difficult to clearly identify which policies can increase women's bargaining power and result in better outcomes. This paper reviews both the analytical frameworks and the empirical evidence on the importance of women's bargaining power. It argues that there is sufficient evidence from rigorous studies to conclude that women's bargaining power does affect outcomes. But in many specific instances, the quantitative evidence cannot rigorously identify causality. In these cases, a combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence may suggest policy levers. Taken together, there are sufficient data in place to support a greatly expanded focus on intrahousehold outcomes and bargaining power. Additional data at the individual level will allow for further and more detailed research. A growing literature supports the current conventional wisdom -- namely, that the patterns of evidence suggest that women s education, incomes, and assets all are important aspects of women s bargaining power.
The Role of Men in the Economic and Social Development of Women : Implications for Gender Equality
(Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2013-02) Farré, LÃdia
This paper is a critical review of the literature on the issue of how male behavior affects female outcomes in the promotion of gender equality. It employs the family as the main unit of analysis because a large part of gender interactions occurs within this institution. This survey first summarizes recent studies on the distribution of power within the family and identifies several factors that have altered the bargaining position of men and women over the last decades. It then reviews empirical work on the contribution of men, as fathers and husbands, to the health and socioeconomic outcomes of women in both developed and developing countries. Finally, it discusses a set of economic policies that have intentionally or unintentionally affected men's attitudes and behaviors. The main implication is that policies meant to achieve gender equality should focus on men rather than exclusively target women.
Gender and Agriculture : Inefficiencies, Segregation, and Low Productivity Traps
(Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2013-02) Croppenstedt, Andre; Goldstein, Markus; Rosas, Nina
Women make essential contributions to agriculture in developing countries, where they constitute approximately 43 percent of the agricultural labor force. However, female farmers typically have lower output per unit of land and are much less likely to be active in commercial farming than their male counterparts. These gender differences in land productivity and participation between male and female farmers are due to gender differences in access to inputs, resources, and services. In this paper, we review the evidence on productivity differences and access to resources. We discuss some of the reasons for these differences, such as differences in property rights, education, control over resources (e.g., land), access to inputs and services (e.g., fertilizer, extension, and credit), and social norms. Although women are less active in commercial farming and are largely excluded from contract farming, they often provide the bulk of wage labor in the nontraditional export sector. In general, gender gaps do not appear to fall systematically with growth, and they appear to rise with GDP per capita and with greater access to resources and inputs. Active policies that support women's access and participation, not just greater overall access, are essential if these gaps are to be closed. The gains in terms of greater productivity of land and overall production are likely to be large.
Violent Conflict and Gender Inequality : An Overview
(Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2013-02) Buvinic, Mayra; Das Gupta, Monica; Casabonne, Ursula; Verwimp, Philip
Violent conflict, a pervasive feature of the recent global landscape, has lasting impacts on human capital, and these impacts are seldom gender neutral. Death and destruction alter the structure and dynamics of households, including their demographic profiles and traditional gender roles. To date, attention to the gender impacts of conflict has focused almost exclusively on sexual and gender-based violence. We show that a far wider set of gender issues must be considered to better document the human consequences of war and to design effective postconflict policies. The emerging empirical evidence is organized using a framework that identifies both the differential impacts of violent conflict on males and females (first-round impacts) and the role of gender inequality in framing adaptive responses to conflict (second-round impacts). War's mortality burden is disproportionately borne by males, whereas women and children constitute a majority of refugees and the displaced. Indirect war impacts on health are more equally distributed between the genders. Conflicts create households headed by widows who can be especially vulnerable to intergenerational poverty. Second-round impacts can provide opportunities for women in work and politics triggered by the absence of men. Households adapt to conflict with changes in marriage and fertility, migration, investments in children's health and schooling, and the distribution of labor between the genders. The impacts of conflict are heterogeneous and can either increase or decrease preexisting gender inequalities. Describing these gender differential effects is a first step toward developing evidence-based conflict prevention and postconflict policy.
Editor's Note
(Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2013-02) Jimenez, Emmanuel; Revenga, Ana L.; Jimenez, Emmanuel; Revenga, Ana L.
The lives of girls and women in developing countries have improved dramatically over the past quarter of a century. Female life expectancy at birth has increased dramatically to reach 71 years globally in 2007. Literacy rates have risen and in a third of developing countries there are more girls in secondary school than boys. Most strikingly, in more than half the developing countries more women attend university than men. Women have entered the labor force in massive numbers and now account for 40% of the global work force. Moreover, change has come much more quickly than it did historically in the rich countries.