This article tests the hypothesis that higher women’s economic and social rights in foreign countries with which a country is connected via trade and FDI spill-over into higher rights among the laggards — a phenomenon known as spatial dependence. Analyzing women’s rights over the period...

The skeptics of globalization argue that increased trade openness and foreign direct investment induce developing countries to keep labor costs low, for example by letting children work. This article argues that there are good theoretical reasons why globalization might actually have the...

Globalization critics are concerned that increased trade openness and foreign direct investment exacerbate existing economic disadvantages of women and foster conditions for forced labor. Defenders of globalization argue instead that as countries become more open and competition intensifies,...

While democracy's effect on economic growth has come under intense empirical scrutiny, its effect on economic sustainability has been noticeably neglected. We assess the effects of regime type and democratic institutional design on economic, or "weak" sustainability. Sustainability requires that...

Genuine saving measures net investment in produced, natural and human capital. It is a necessary condition for weak sustainable development that genuine saving not be persistently negative. However, according to data provided by the World Bank, resource-rich countries are systematically failing...