Mining away women’s rights: resource curse, gender equality and the colonial institutional heritage of Sub-Saharan African nations

Abstract

This thesis conducts a literature review on the effects of resource dependence in Sub-Saharan African nations on gender equality, finding generally reduced outcomes in the presence of resource dependence. Transmission channels are discussed, primarily finding institutions to be a pivotal factor in gender equality, exasperated by conflicts of interest in the presence of resources. This hypothesis is tested by exploiting early settler mortality data as a measure for long-run institutional quality. Findings suggest settler mortality accounts for much of the variation in gender equality in Sub-Saharan Africa, regardless of resources. This would imply that gender inequality is a deeply rooted historical institutional shortcoming and that continued exploitation of resources in less-developed nations must consider institutional and social effects more strongly.