We examine the effect of social institutions related to gender inequality on development outcomes. By characterizing and applying the recently developed Social Institution and Gender Index (SIGI) and its sub-components, we show how social institutions related to gender inequality are associated...

One of the most serious weaknesses of the human development index (HDI) is that it does not take into account the distribution of human development within a country. All attempts to capture inequality in the HDI have used aggregate information and there exists no HDI at the household level. We...

Institutions are a major factor explaining development outcomes. This study focuses on social institutions related to gender inequality understood as long-lasting norms, values and codes of conduct that shape gender roles, and presents evidence on why they matter for development. We derive...

In this paper we construct the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) and its five subindices Family code, Civil liberties, Physical integrity, Son Preference and Ownership rights using variables of the OECD Gender, Institutions and Development database. Instead of measuring gender...

This paper uses the gravity model of trade to investigate the link between bilateral and multilateral foreign aid and donor's exports. There are three primary findings from this approach. First, in the long term, the average return, in terms of an increase in the donor's level of goods exports,...

This paper investigates whether different types of female?headed households in Thailand and Vietnam are disadvantaged in terms of current consumption, exposure to shocks, consumption smoothing capacities, as well as vulnerability to poverty and downside risk. Using a unique panel data set of...

This paper uses the gravity model of trade to investigate the link between foreign aid and exports in recipient countries and tests for the transmission channels between aid and exports/economic development in developing countries. Most of the theoretical work emphasizes the negative impact of...

One of the most serious weaknesses of the human development index (HDI) is that it considers only average achievements and does not take into account the distribution of human development within a country or by population subgroups. All previous attempts to capture inequality in the HDI have...

Although empowerment is intrinsically important and instrumentally valuable to escape poverty, there is little research on its empirical drivers. Using household-level information and advanced econometric techniques that also address endogeneity issues, we examine what empowers individuals in...

This article investigates whether heterogeneous subgroups of female-headed households are worse off than households headed by men. It analyzes the correlates of consumption, shock exposure, and severity, as well as vulnerability to poverty. Using panel data of over 4000 rural households from...