Sociology 699F: Gender & Social Change

Forsythe, Korzeniewicz, and Durrant, 2000

Growth helps gender equality for rich countries only

Model

• DVs: levels and changes in women's well being and gender inequality
• IV: development levels: GDP/cap (& potential curvilinearity)
• IV: growth (for change models)
• IV: "cultural:" Muslim & Latin American dummies
• IV: Gender empowerment: (political/social gender inequality)

Literature traditions:

• Modernization: development -> equality (achievement vs. ascription)
• Human capital: development (markets) -> equality (discrimination inefficiencies cost too much)
• Boserup: development inverted-U-> equality (often gets worse first)
  Also depends on existing cultural patterns: $ -> reinforces dominant culture
• Later feminist approaches: gender <- hh, family dynamics independent of development
• Structural adjustment comes at expense of public services & employment (thus gender unequal effects).

Results:

• Well-being
• X-section: well-being linear with GDPc; Muslim (oil?) lower than expected
• changes: well-being improves with GDPc growth; rich improved more
• changes: structural adjustment unimportant
• Inequality
• X-section: inverted U with GDPc, but most of this is function of high Muslim (? & LA)
• changes: gender equality improves with development for rich countries only
• changes: structural adjustment unimportant

Implications:

• Development effects depend on pre-existing context (economic here)
• Change analyses imply different (better) conclusions of development effects
• Must study inequality AND absolute levels together
• Needs more multidimensional approach (cf. Mason, 1986)
• Needs more recognition of non-independence of nations (cf. Ramirez, Soysal, and Shanahan 1986)