Abstract:

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Women’s empowerment and economic development are closely interrelated. In this dissertation I explore (i) the barriers women face as politicians, (ii) the consequences of increasing political participation of women for local politics, and (iii) the effects of a particular program that aims to empower girls and encourages them to continue with education. I use data collected from field and lab-in-the-field experiments in Uganda and Zambia to provide further evidence on these linkages. My results show that empowerment, broadly defined, has important effects on both education and political outcomes.

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This PhD Dissertation was presented by Ana Garcia Hernandez as part of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics. You can access the paper here.

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