ArthurMartin26/DV495_EFLR_Agency

# Dissertation: Women's Agency as a Conversion Factor in Economic Development This repository contains all code and documentation for my MSc dissertation investigating whether increases in women's agency shape the extent to which local economic opportunities reduce multidimensional poverty in Ethiopia. # DV495_EFLR_Agency # Dissertation: Women's Agency as a Conversion Factor in Economic Development This repository contains all code and documentation for my MSc dissertation investigating whether increases in women's agency shape the extent to which local economic opportunities reduce multidimensional poverty in Ethiopia. # Dissertation Proposal (Updated) ## Title (working) **Women’s Agency as a Conversion Factor: Legal Reform, Economic Activity, and Material Wellbeing in Ethiopia** --- ## 1. Motivation and Research Question This dissertation investigates whether women’s agency shapes the extent to which economic opportunities translate into improvements in material wellbeing. This draws on Sen’s capability approach, which argues that expanding resources is not enough to improve wellbeing unless individuals have the agency required to convert those resources into valued achievements. **Research question:** *Does women’s agency act as a “conversion factor” that enhances the poverty-reducing effect of local economic activity?* Establishing this mechanism is empirically difficult because agency and poverty may influence each other and share common unobservable determinants. To overcome this, I use an external shock to women’s agency generated by a major legal reform. --- ## 2. Policy Context and Exogenous Variation The empirical strategy exploits the rollout of Ethiopia’s Revised Family Code (RFC), a reform that significantly strengthened women’s legal rights. Key changes included: - Women gained authority to administer marital property. - Spouses could no longer block the other from working outside the home. - Courts were granted greater authority over divorce and inheritance disputes. - The minimum legal marriage age was increased to 18. ### Rollout pattern - In the year 2000, **no region** had adopted the RFC. - Between **2000 and 2005**, **five regions** implemented the reform. - By **2005**, **all regions** had adopted it. - After 2005, there is **no …