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Does gender matter for aid project performance? The case of Asian Development Bank

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  • Kaur, Jasleen

Abstract

The performance of aid projects matters for development. Yet what shapes performance, is insufficiently understood. According to interdisciplinary research on organizational management and bureaucratic representation, the gender of operational leaders in complex organizations can have a discernible effect on all aspects of the project cycle. To this end, I seek to test whether the gender of aid project staff matters in explaining variation in project performance. I use a self-collected novel dataset from the Asian Development Bank to discern whether project staff’s gender (women vs men project leaders) is associated with project performance. I use multinomial-ordered logistic regressions to test the association of the gender of project managers with project performance measures of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability. I find that projects led by women are, on average, associated with higher performance ratings on dimensions of efficiency. Significant and positive association with the relevance criterion is subject to model specification. However, I do not see an association with the effectiveness and sustainability criterion of project performance. This paper contributes to the literature by estimating the differential impact of women vs men project managers on disaggregated performance measures. It also lays down potential mechanisms and future research discourse

Suggested Citation

  • Kaur, Jasleen, 2024. "Does gender matter for aid project performance? The case of Asian Development Bank," OSF Preprints uv9fh, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:uv9fh
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/uv9fh
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
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