Analysis of a global survey of 21,980 firms from 91 countries suggests that the presence of women in corporate leadership positions may improve firm performance. This correlation could reflect either the payoff to nondiscrimination or the fact that women increase a firm's skill diversity. Women's presence in corporate leadership is positively correlated with firm characteristics such as size as well as national characteristics such as girls' math scores, the absence of discriminatory attitudes toward female executives, and the availability of paternal leave. The results find no impact of board gender quotas on firm performance, but they suggest that the payoffs of policies that facilitate women rising through the corporate ranks more broadly could be significant.
After decades of low-level commercial interaction, China and Latin America significantly ramped up their economic relationship in the 2000s. China has jumped to first place as an export destination for many countries, and it is a major source of imports for all countries in the Latin America/ Caribbean region. While not a major source of foreign direct investment overall, China has built a strong investment presence in certain countries, particularly in the natural resource and infrastructure sectors. China's influence in Latin America has presented a great opportunity for many countries, but it has also brought new risks. Three main challenges face the region: how to mitigate the impacts of increased commodity concentration as a result of China's strong demand for natural resources; how to avoid other natural resource curse effects; and how to manage the tapering of this growth. Latin American countries' relationships with China vary widely, so there is no single, coordinated regional response.
The relationship between standards, economic development, and trade is at the forefront of policy debate. Standards can accelerate economic efficiency and trade and also act as discriminatory barriers. This paper examines standards in the context of development in Central America. Key aspects of disputes over standards at the World Trade Organization are discussed, along with the reasons why standards matter to development and trade prospects for Central America. The paper recommends ways to leverage shared infrastructure in standards and assist these countries to implement their WTO obligations. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2002.
We promote women's participation in sports as part of a solution to better integrate women into the labor force of Asian economies. Women in Asia lag other regions in terms of labor force participation and membership in corporate leadership bodies; this is particularly acute in East Asia. Involvement in sport has been found to be associated with long-term economic benefits for women internationally, including enhanced returns to education and labor outcomes. We propose a number of sports program-related policies for Asian countries to consider in order to better integrate women into education, society, labor, and corporate boardrooms.
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