Biståndets effekt på jämställdhet och kvinnlig egenmakt - En empirisk studie av jämställdhetsinriktat bistånd till LDCs

Abstract

The effectiveness of foreign aid has been an object of debate for a long time, and so has the importance of gender equality for economic development. Foreign aid in support of gender equality and women empowerment in developing countries has grown rapidly over the last few decades. Still, studies regarding the efficiency of gender aid are scarce. The aim of this study is to examine whether there is a relationship between gender aid, gender equality and women empowerment in the world’s least developed countries. The study also aims to investigate if there exists a relationship between gender aid and institutional change in these recipient countries. This is done by using panel data on 41 of the world's least developed countries (LDCs) over the period 2002-2019, where gender aid is measured as ODA-commitments targeting gender equality as a share of total ODA-commitments. To measure the level of gender equality the study uses five different outcome variables, each representing one dimension of gender equality. The results show a positive and statistically significant relationship between gender aid and the number of parliament seats held by women in national parliaments. The results also show a negative relationship between gender aid and the level of maternal mortality when gender aid is lagged with three years. However, the results are ambiguous for women to male labor force participation ratio. When examining legislations regarding domestic violence and sexual harassment in employment, the impact of gender aid on institutions seems to be tentative as well. However, one might argue that gender aid indirectly affects institutions, through the positive and significant relationship between gender aid and the number of females in national parliaments.