Globalization and the Empowerment of Women: An Analysis of Spatial Dependence via Trade and Foreign Direct Investment

SummaryThis article tests the hypothesis that higher women’s economic and social rights in foreign countries with which a country is connected via trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) spill-over into higher rights among the laggards—a phenomenon known as spatial dependence. Analyzing women’s rights over the period 1981–2007 in a global sample and samples of countries at different stages of economic development, we find consistent evidence for spill-over effects via trade links, with the exception of a sample of low-income countries. We also find some evidence for similar effects via FDI, but only for economic rights and only in middle-income countries.