Women’s rights and global development policy

Abstract This study examines the effects of gender-marked bilateral development aid on women’s legal rights and economic participation in aid-eligible countries from 1990 to 2021. Using a panel dataset that combines gender-marked aid flows with data from the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law database, we employ two complementary empirical strategies—a panel fixed effects model with unit-specific trends and a shift-share instrumental variable approach. Our results indicate that gender-marked aid contributes to legal reforms that expand women’s economic rights. We also find evidence of a positive link to women’s employment in the industrial sector, while finding no comparable effects in the services or agricultural sectors. Overall, the findings suggest that targeted development aid can play a significant role in advancing gender-equal legal frameworks and promoting women’s economic participation.