Women-Friendly Policies since the Third Wave of Democratization: Improvement, Stagnation, or Reversion?

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2018-09-01

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en

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Since the third wave of democratization, policies have become more women-friendly. However, variations between countries persist or have increased. In this thesis, explanations are found for these differences between countries in WFPs since the third wave of democratization using the Dataset on Women-Friendly Policies (DWFP). This thesis contributes to the existing literature by introducing a theoretical framework that acknowledges global trends on WFPs in both developing and developed countries since the third wave of democratization. Multiple hypotheses about the differences are tested, derived from rational choice, cultural and structural research approaches. Applying a panel data multilevel analysis, the results indicate that the nature of the differences is threefold, and each paradigm has explanatory power. However, the rational choice perspective turns out to explain most of the differences between countries. Subsequently, the results indicate that there are differences in the explanatory power of the paradigms when considering specific policy areas and levels of WFPs. This suggests that even specific contextual differences between countries offer compelling results for the level of WFPs and that some contextual conditions have a greater impact on one policy area compared to another.

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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen

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