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Women as policy makers and donors: Female legislators and foreign aid

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  • Hicks, Daniel L.
  • Hicks, Joan Hamory
  • Maldonado, Beatriz

Abstract

This paper investigates whether the gender composition of national legislatures in donor countries impacts the level, composition, and pattern of foreign aid. We provide evidence that the election of female legislators leads countries to increase aid both in total and as a percentage of GDP. Consistent with existing research examining domestic expenditures, we find that the empowerment of women in national legislatures is associated with a reallocation of aid flows in favor of education and health-related projects. These increased flows occur predominately through bilateral aid and reflect a redistribution of aid toward developing countries.

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  • Hicks, Daniel L. & Hicks, Joan Hamory & Maldonado, Beatriz, 2016. "Women as policy makers and donors: Female legislators and foreign aid," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 46-60.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:41:y:2016:i:c:p:46-60
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2015.10.007
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign aid; Female political representation; Gender preferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General

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