Women’s Political Participation and FDI Alyson Matthews Ruth Whittaker

Research Question Does women’s political participation have an effect on FDI inflows to host countries? Alyson

The Debate... Women’s political participation leads to a host of positive outcomes Determinants of FDI Positive Negative Effects of FDI on Women Alyson outcomes: few violations of human rights, decrease in intrastate armed conflict, less corruption, more anti-authoritarian pressure, fewer men join religious fanatic and extremist groups, helps consolidate democracy Determinants: Positive: Democracy (Federalism),Authoritarian regimes (vertical integration and civilian participation), government stability, stable institutions, in some cases, wage discrimination, high political liberties Negative: conflict, corruption, regional issue (SSA), high civil liberties Effects of FDI on Women: lower wages, lower employment levels, more menial tasks, less female education (depending on the sector of FDI), FDI supposedly benefits the host nation which may trickle down to women (more investment in infrastructure, education, modernization to make manufacturing more productive)

Hypothesis Greater representation in parliament leads to an increase in FDI inflows Alyson Driven by the increase in political/institutional stability, greater political and civil rights, less chance of conflict between states (picture:http://www.snipview.com/q/Africa%20Central%20Conference)

Methodology Independent Variable: percentage of parliamentary seats held by women Dependent Variable: FDI inflows percentage of GDP Balance of Payments Source: World Bank Data Ruthie: Years: 1990-2014 We look at % of GDP and Balance of payments because FDI in terms of BoP gives the raw dollar amount, where %of GDP gives a comparison to the GDP as a factor in the country’s overall economy Not sure which one will be more significant Possible control variables: region, income, democracy, civil war, membership in international institutions, market size, trade openness, labor costs, exchange rate fluctuation, religion, Also considering lagging independent variable Suggestions for controls?

Results XTset our data, then ran a regression Found the coefficient of the effect of women’s representation in parliament is roughly .0166, which is pretty weak. regression coefficient: 0.0166=WEAK

Where do we go from here? narrow our focus developing countries region Developing countries measured by income level region restricted to the global south Suggestions?