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Does the Liberalization of Trade Advance Gender Equality in Schooling and Health?

Author

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  • T. Paul Schultz

    (Economic Growth Center, Yale University)

Abstract
This paper assesses the empirical relationship between the liberalization of international trade and the economic status of women. Although historically globalization is not generally linked to the advancement of women, several recent country studies find export led growth in middle and low income countries is associated with improvements in women’s employment opportunities. Does intercountry empirical evidence confirm this association across a wider range of countries, and suggest the mechanisms by which it operates? Measures of wages for men and women are an unreliable basis for study of gender inequality in many low-income countries, and thus schooling and health are analyzed here as indicators of productivity and welfare and gender gaps. For a sample of 70 countries observed at five year intervals from 1965 to 1980, tariff, quota, and foreign exchange restrictions are found to be inversely associated with trade, and with the levels of education and health, especially for women. Natural resource exports, although providing foreign exchange for imports, appear to reduce investments in schooling and health, and delay the equalization of these human capital investments between men and women. Liberalization of trade policy is consequently linked in the cross section to increased trade, to greater accumulation of human capital, and to increased gender equality.

Suggested Citation

  • T. Paul Schultz, 2006. "Does the Liberalization of Trade Advance Gender Equality in Schooling and Health?," Working Papers 935, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    • Handle: RePEc:egc:wpaper:935
    as

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    File URL: http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp935.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Schultz, T. Paul, 2009. "The Gender and Generational Consequences of the Demographic Transition and Population Policy: An Assessment of the Micro and Macro Linkages," Working Papers 71, Yale University, Department of Economics.
    2. Martina Zweimüller & Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer & Doris Weichselbaumer, 2008. "Market Orientation and Gender Wage Gaps: an International Study," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 615-635, November.
    3. Audi, Marc & Ali, Amjad, 2016. "Gender Gap and Trade Liberalization: An Analysis of some selected SAARC countries," MPRA Paper 83520, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Myriam Ben Saâd & Giscard Assoumou Ella, 2019. "Economic Complexity and Gender Inequality in Education: An Empirical Study," Post-Print hal-03426719, HAL.
    5. Myriam Ben Saâd & Giscard Assoumou-Ella, 2019. "Economic Complexity and Gender Inequality in Education: An Empirical Study," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 321-334.
    6. Oriana Bandiera & Ashwini Natraj, 2013. "Does Gender Inequality Hinder Development and Economic Growth? Evidence and Policy Implications," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 2-21, February.
    7. Yin, Hua-Tang & Chang, Chun-Ping & Anugrah, Donni Fajar & Gunadi, Iman, 2023. "Gender equality and central bank independence," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 661-672.
    8. Enriqueta Camps, 2009. "Globalization and culture shaping the gender gap: A comparative analysis of urban Latin America and East Asia (1970 - 2000)," Economics Working Papers 1145, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    9. Enriqueta Camps, 2013. "Market Openness and Culture as Factors that Shape the Gender Gap: a Comparative Study of Urban Latin America and East Asia (1960-2000)," Working Papers 694, Barcelona School of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade Liberalization; Schooling; Health; Gender Equality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F02 - International Economics - - General - - - International Economic Order and Integration
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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