The relationship between natural resource rents and gender discrimination laws: evidence from panel data analysis

Purpose This study investigates the impact of hydrocarbon rents on gender discrimination laws and the extent to which democratic institutions and women’s political participation condition this relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study uses static and dynamic panel estimation including pooled-ordinary least squares, fixed and random effects and system generalized method of moments. Findings The results show that countries with higher hydrocarbon rents have higher levels of gender discrimination laws. Furthermore, there is a significant link between hydrocarbon rents and gender discrimination laws regardless of the quality of democratic institutions or strength of women’s political empowerment. Research limitations/implications The index of gender discrimination laws is limited to laws that impact a woman’s access to employment and entrepreneurial activity once a woman enters the labor force and does not take into account implementation of the laws. Practical implications Policymakers should promote output and export diversification and adopt gender-inclusive policies to counter the adverse consequences of gender discrimination laws associated with hydrocarbon resource wealth. Originality/value Women’s empowerment is a major issue on the global development agenda, featuring most notably in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 on achieving women equality and empowerment of women and girls. There is scant evidence about how hydrocarbon rents impact gender discrimination laws, a pervasive obstacle to women’s economic and political empowerment. This paper fills this gap in the literature paper by examining the effect of hydrocarbon rents on gender discrimination laws. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0174