The Impact of the Sectoral Allocation of Foreign aid on Gender Inequality

While many developing countries have made progress in human development, gender equality remains a challenge for most. This study uses data on bilateral official aid disbursements from the OECD Development Assistance Committee (OECD‐DAC) to examine the impact of aid and its sectoral allocation on overall gender inequality as well as on gender inequality in health and education. We find that the impact of aid on gender inequality is dependent on initial human development and per capita income. However, increased aid to the health and education sectors appears to be effective in reducing maternal mortality and gender inequality in youth literacy regardless of initial conditions.