<p>Abstract</p><p>Essay in Political Science, C – level, by Ylva Björkegren, spring semester 2008. Tutor: Anna Spånning. “Sida from a liberal feministic perspective. Are there gender equality-ideas of liberal feministic kind in Sidas aid – and development policy?”</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to study if Sidas aid – and development policy reflect gender equality. I aim to do this by applying liberal feministic thoughts on gender and development. Liberal feminism is here seen as that men and women should have the same responsibilities and rights in all spheres of society. My research question is as follows: Are there gender equality-ideas of liberalfeministic kind in Sidas aid- and development policy?</p><p>Connected to this question are three variables: Entrepreneurship, Ownership and Education. By examining if Sida promotes gender equality in their work within these variables I aim to answer my research question. I examine this by counducting interviews with Sida-personnel and by, with a qualitative approach, studying Sida-documents and publications.</p><p>I perform this research by conducting a comparative case – study; I compare and study Bangladesh and Ethiopia within these variables.</p><p>I also conduct a general discussion on wether these variables can have an effect on the level of development in these countries. Development is in this essay expressed through three indexes; Human Development Index, Gender – related Development Index and Gender Empowerment Measure.</p><p>My delimitation lies in the fact that I only compare two countries. I believe that I would get a more generalizable result if I would have compared say all fifty LDC-countries. The fact that I only study three variables is also a delimitation.</p><p>The answers to my research question is that Yes – there are gender equality-ideas of liberalfeministic kind in Sidas aid- and development policy. I have also found that my variables are variables that are likely to have an influence on the level of development. I am also very well aware of the fact that there are lots of other variables, that I have not examined, which also have that influence on development.</p><p>Key words: gender, gender equality, development, entrepreneurship, ownership, education, Bangladesh, Ethiopia</p>

Abstract Essay in Political Science, C – level, by Ylva Björkegren, spring semester 2008. Tutor: Anna Spånning. “Sida from a liberal feministic perspective. Are there gender equality-ideas of liberal feministic kind in Sidas aid – and development policy?” The purpose of this essay is to study if Sidas aid – and development policy reflect gender equality. I aim to do this by applying liberal feministic thoughts on gender and development. Liberal feminism is here seen as that men and women should have the same responsibilities and rights in all spheres of society. My research question is as follows: Are there gender equality-ideas of liberalfeministic kind in Sidas aid- and development policy? Connected to this question are three variables: Entrepreneurship, Ownership and Education. By examining if Sida promotes gender equality in their work within these variables I aim to answer my research question. I examine this by counducting interviews with Sida-personnel and by, with a qualitative approach, studying Sida-documents and publications. I perform this research by conducting a comparative case – study; I compare and study Bangladesh and Ethiopia within these variables. I also conduct a general discussion on wether these variables can have an effect on the level of development in these countries. Development is in this essay expressed through three indexes; Human Development Index, Gender – related Development Index and Gender Empowerment Measure. My delimitation lies in the fact that I only compare two countries. I believe that I would get a more generalizable result if I would have compared say all fifty LDC-countries. The fact that I only study three variables is also a delimitation. The answers to my research question is that Yes – there are gender equality-ideas of liberalfeministic kind in Sidas aid- and development policy. I have also found that my variables are variables that are likely to have an influence on the level of development. I am also very well aware of the fact that there are lots of other variables, that I have not examined, which also have that influence on development. Key words: gender, gender equality, development, entrepreneurship, ownership, education, Bangladesh, Ethiopia

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of a conditional cash transfer program, Progresa, on school attendance in Mexican rural and urban areas. Within recent years, conditional cash transfer programs have become one of the most accepted remedies for poverty alleviation in many countries. Progresa was developed as an economic experi-ment, with randomized selection process, treatment groups and control croups. For this reason, the impact of Progresa is ideal for economic analysis. There are clear evidence of disparities between urban and rural school attendance rates in Mexico, hence the pro-gram’s effect on school attendance rates have been studied in the two regions. There are several reasons why one would expect different outcomes of the program on school at-tendance in rural and urban areas. Expected returns to education and the opportunity cost of investment in schooling in different regions are thought to affect the household’s optimization problem differently. The impact of Progresa on school attendance rates is estimated by a logit regression model analyzing household data within the household optimization framework. Mainly, Progresa has a positive impact on children’s school at-tendance. However, it may be concluded that Progresa has no significant effect for older children in rural areas. This result is assumed to be explained by the different conditions poor families face in different regions. If rural households’ optimization problem indeed looks different; this might suggest that the design of conditional cash transfer programs such as Progresa is crucially important depending on the region of implementation. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera det villkora välfärdsprogrammet Progresa och dess effekt på skolnärvaro i mexikanska rurala och urbana områden. Under senare år har villkora välfärdsprogram kommit att vara en av de mest accepterade formerna av bistånd för att minska fattigdom i de flesta länder. Progresa utvecklades utifrån ett ekonomiskt experiment, med en slumpmässig urvalsprocess samt en experiment- och kontrollgrupp. Med anledning av detta är Progresa ett utmärkt program att studera för ekonomisk analys. Skolnärvaron i mexikanska rurala och urbana områden varierar stort och av denna anledning har effekten av Progresa studerats i de båda regionerna. Det finns många anledningar till varför vi bör förvänta oss avvikande utfall. En förklaring kan vara att utbildningens förväntade avkastning och alternativkostnad påverkar hushållens optimeringsproblem olika. Effekten av Progresa på skolnärvaro är beräknad med en logit regressionsmodell där hushållsdata analyseras inom ramen för hushållets optimeringsproblem. Huvudsakligen har Progresa en positiv effekt på barns skolnärvaro. Dock, och vad som bör noteras, är det faktum att Progresa inte har en signifikant påverkan på äldre rurala barns skolnärvaro. Detta resultat antas förklaras av fattiga familjers olika förutsättningar i rurala och urbana områden. I det fall rurala familjers optimeringsproblem skiljer sig från urbana familjers optimeringsproblem, torde detta innebära att strukturen av ett villkorligt biståndsprogram, så som Progresa, är av största vikt och bör anpassas ändamålsenligt.

<p>The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of a conditional cash transfer program, Progresa, on school attendance in Mexican rural and urban areas. Within recent years, conditional cash transfer programs have become one of the most accepted remedies for poverty alleviation in many countries. Progresa was developed as an economic experi-ment, with randomized selection process, treatment groups and control croups. For this reason, the impact of Progresa is ideal for economic analysis. There are clear evidence of disparities between urban and rural school attendance rates in Mexico, hence the pro-gram’s effect on school attendance rates have been studied in the two regions. There are several reasons why one would expect different outcomes of the program on school at-tendance in rural and urban areas. Expected returns to education and the opportunity cost of investment in schooling in different regions are thought to affect the household’s optimization problem differently. The impact of Progresa on school attendance rates is estimated by a logit regression model analyzing household data within the household optimization framework. Mainly, Progresa has a positive impact on children’s school at-tendance. However, it may be concluded that Progresa has no significant effect for older children in rural areas. This result is assumed to be explained by the different conditions poor families face in different regions. If rural households’ optimization problem indeed looks different; this might suggest that the design of conditional cash transfer programs such as Progresa is crucially important depending on the region of implementation.</p> / <p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera det villkora välfärdsprogrammet Progresa och dess effekt på skolnärvaro i mexikanska rurala och urbana områden. Under senare år har villkora välfärdsprogram kommit att vara en av de mest accepterade formerna av bistånd för att minska fattigdom i de flesta länder. Progresa utvecklades utifrån ett ekonomiskt experiment, med en slumpmässig urvalsprocess samt en experiment- och kontrollgrupp. Med anledning av detta är Progresa ett utmärkt program att studera för ekonomisk analys. Skolnärvaron i mexikanska rurala och urbana områden varierar stort och av denna anledning har effekten av Progresa studerats i de båda regionerna. Det finns många anledningar till varför vi bör förvänta oss avvikande utfall. En förklaring kan vara att utbildningens förväntade avkastning och alternativkostnad påverkar hushållens optimeringsproblem olika. Effekten av Progresa på skolnärvaro är beräknad med en logit regressionsmodell där hushållsdata analyseras inom ramen för hushållets optimeringsproblem. Huvudsakligen har Progresa en positiv effekt på barns skolnärvaro. Dock, och vad som bör noteras, är det faktum att Progresa inte har en signifikant påverkan på äldre rurala barns skolnärvaro. Detta resultat antas förklaras av fattiga familjers olika förutsättningar i rurala och urbana områden. I det fall rurala familjers optimeringsproblem skiljer sig från urbana familjers optimeringsproblem, torde detta innebära att strukturen av ett villkorligt biståndsprogram, så som Progresa, är av största vikt och bör anpassas ändamålsenligt.</p>