Community Programs and Women’s Participation: The Chinese Experience

Using household-level data specifically collected for the purpose of evaluation, we empirically evaluate the impact on household income of a rural program in China that focuses on increasing women’s economic and social participation in the local community. We find that the program substantially increases women’s participation and household income, and also generates positive social benefits. Our results also suggest that the income gains accrue to participants only, and partly at the expense of non-participants. We find that the magnitude of the program impacts depends sensitively on the program’s ability to increase participation rates within villages. In the presence of the program, individual participation helps to avoid the negative externalities and to buy into the positive gains accruing to participants. Our results support the view that effectively implemented gender-focused interventions can have substantial social benefits when supported by the necessary legal and institutional framework. JEL Classification: I38, J15, J70, O1