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How Education Empowers Women in Developing Countries

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  • Le, Kien
  • Nguyen, My

Abstract

This paper evaluates the impacts of education on women’s relational empowerment, within a context of 70 developing countries across the world. Exploiting the variation in educational attainment between biological sisters, we find that education is positively associated with women’s intra-household decision making authority in both financial and non-financial domains. Moreover, education reduces relational friction, especially women’s exposure to psychological abuse. Our mechanism analyses provide suggestive evidence that these improvements could be attributed to increased access to information, assortative matching, and better labor market outcome.

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  • Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "How Education Empowers Women in Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 104481, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:104481
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    Cited by:

    1. Tess Penne; & Heleen Delanghe; & Tim Goedemé, 2021. "An exploration of key factors that determine the affordability of compulsory education in Europe," Working Papers 2108, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    2. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "Education and political engagement," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    3. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2019. "Racial/Ethnic Match and Student-Teacher Relationships," MPRA Paper 105390, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Nguyen, My & Le, Kien, 2022. "Maternal education and son preference," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Imran Ur Rahman & Mohsin Shafi & Liu Junrong & Enitilina Tatiani M.K. Fetuu & Shah Fahad & Buddhi Prasad Sharma, 2021. "Infrastructure and Trade: An Empirical Study Based on China and Selected Asian Economies," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.
    6. My Nguyen & Kien Le, 2023. "The impacts of women's land ownership: Evidence from Vietnam," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 158-177, February.
    7. Nguyen, My, 2019. "Political Violence and Child Height: Evidence from the 2003 Casablanca Bombings," MPRA Paper 111205, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Small, Sarah F. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana, 2023. "The gendered effects of investing in physical and social infrastructure," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    9. Nguyen-Phung, Hang Thu, 2023. "The impact of maternal education on child mortality: Evidence from an increase tuition fee policy in Vietnam," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    10. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2022. "Desert locust swarms and child health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    11. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "In-utero Exposure to Rainfall Variability and Early Childhood Health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    12. Nguyen, My, 2020. "Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Related Symptoms in the US," MPRA Paper 109992, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. My Nguyen & Kien Le, 2022. "Can Legislation Reduce Domestic Violence in Developing Countries?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-15, October.
    14. Haider Mahmood & Muhammad Tanveer, 2024. "Examining the Role of Women’s Labor Participation in CO2 Emissions in Saudi Arabia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(3), pages 102-108, May.
    15. Nivison Nery Jr. & Juan P Aguilar Ticona & Claudia Gambrah & Simon Doss-Gollin & Adeolu Aromolaran & Valmir Rastely-Júnior & Millani Lessa & Gielson A Sacramento & Jaqueline S Cruz & Daiana de Oliveir, 2021. "Social determinants associated with Zika virus infection in pregnant women," PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-12, July.
    16. Castro-Diaz, Laura & García, María Alejandra & Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio & Lopez, Maria Claudia, 2023. "Impacts of hydropower development on locals’ livelihoods in the Global South," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    17. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "The Impacts of Armed Conflict on Child Health: Evidence from 56 Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 109896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. My Nguyen, 2024. "Temperature and intimate partner violence," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 71(2), pages 197-218, May.
    19. Kien Le, 2022. "Pre-Recorded Lectures, Live Online Lectures, and Student Academic Achievement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-10, March.
    20. Najam, Rafiuddin, 2024. "Closing the gap: Effect of a gender quota on women’s access to education in Afghanistan," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    21. Hartman, Dana T. & Goodman, Gail S. & Grandchamp, Jaxon & Vidales, Daisy & Shaver, Phillip R. & Lawler, Michael J. & Hobbs, Sue D., 2023. "Outcomes for foster youth placed at a special residential high school: A quantitative case study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; women’s empowerment; developing countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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