IMF-法律上的兩性平等是趨同的催化劑（英）

1a6eIoanpaJ3bueIi\(eseOe\eI(s\}oJWP/22/155IMFWorkingPaperspasoJiqaJasaeJouindJo6Jassq(\uaeu\uoJ)s(enpeJaduqIisuap\oaIioi\oomman\senp\oanoouJe6apaqe\a.TheviewsexpressedinIMFWorkingPapersarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheIMF,itsExecutiveBoard,orIMFmanagement.20221.本附加與原報(bào)告無關(guān);互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公開數(shù)據(jù)；3.本資料在“行業(yè)報(bào)告資源群”和“知識(shí)星球4.本資料僅限社群內(nèi)部學(xué)習(xí)，如需它用請(qǐng)聯(lián)系1.進(jìn)群即領(lǐng)福利《報(bào)告與資源合編》，內(nèi)有近百行業(yè)、上萬份行2.每日分享學(xué)習(xí)最新6+份精選行研資料；3.群友交流，群主免費(fèi)提供相關(guān)領(lǐng)域行研資料。效業(yè)研究、運(yùn)營管理、價(jià)值傳播等計(jì)劃、蓋科技、金融、教育、互聯(lián)*TheviewsexpressedinthispaperarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheIMF,itsExecutiveBoard,orIMFmanagement.IthankAtaCanBertay,KatharineChristopherson,LjubicaDordevic,FranciscaFernando,EdwardGemayel,JulietJohnson,SergiiMeleshchuk,MoniqueNewiak,RasmaneOuedraogo,CatherinePattillo,MarcosPoplawskiRibeiro,HannahSheldon,AudreyYiadom,andmycolleaguesattheIMFforinsightfuldiscussionsandvaluablecomments.Allerrorsaremyown.?2022InternationalMonetaryFundWP/22/155IMFWorkingPaperAfricanDepartmentLegalGenderEqualityasaCatalystforConvergencePreparedbyCanSever*AuthorizedfordistributionbyEdwardGemayelJuly2022IMFWorkingPapersdescriberesearchinprogressbytheauthor(s)andarepublishedtoelicitcommentsandtoencouragedebate.TheviewsexpressedinIMFWorkingPapersarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheIMF,itsExecutiveBoard,orIMFmanagement.ABSTRACT:Theunequaltreatmentofwomeninthelawisoneofthemostvisibleformsofgenderinequality.Prevalentlegalconstraintsonthebasisofgenderpreventwomen,andtherebyeconomies,fromreachingtheirtruepotential.Inthisregard,thispaper(i)documentstheevolutionofgenderdiscriminatorylawsaroundtheglobe,and(ii)shedslightontheroleoflegalgenderequalityinincomeconvergenceacrosscountries.Itshowsthatdespitetheremarkableprogresstowardgenderequalityinthelawoverthelastfivedecades,thelegalenvironmentacrosstheworldisstillfarfromprovidingalevelplayingfieldforwomen.Moreover,cross-countrygapsingenderdiscriminatorylawshavepersistedandevenwidenedovertheyears,meaningthatsomecountrieshavelaggedbehindtheprogressinrepealingthelawsthatactasabarriertowomen’seconomicinclusion.Basedonaglobalsamplesincethe1970s,thispaperfindsthatgreatergenderequalityinthelawfacilitatescross-countryincomeconvergenceovertime.Theresultscallforactionandprovideareasontobeoptimisticgoingforward.Theyimplythatlegalreformssupportiveofgenderequality,whichcouldindeedbeactionableintheshorterterm,helppoorercountriescatchupwiththelivingstandardsintheadvancedeconomies.Theseofferawindowofopportunityinthepost-Covid-19period,giventheadverseeffectsofthepandemiconeconomicgrowthandgendergaps.JELClassificationNumbers:D63,J16,J30,J71,K31,K36,K38,O10,O40,O47Keywords:Genderinequality;law;genderdiscriminatorylaws;women’sempowerment;convergence;economicgrowth;economicdevelopmentAuthor’sE-MailAddress:csever@WORKINGPAPERSyasaPreparedbyCanSever11TheviewsexpressedinthispaperarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheIMF,itsExecutiveBoard,orIMFmanagement.IthankAtaCanBertay,KatharineChristopherson,LjubicaDordevic,FranciscaFernando,EdwardGemayel,JulietJohnson,SergiiMeleshchuk,MoniqueNewiak,RasmaneOuedraogo,CatherinePattillo,MarcosPoplawskiRibeiro,HannahSheldon,AudreyYiadom,andmycolleaguesattheIMFforinsightfuldiscussionsandvaluablecomments.Allerrorsaremyown.IMFWORKINGPAPERSLegalGenderEqualityasaCatalystforConvergenceINTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND21.Introduction 3 tylizedFacts 4.Methodology 175.Results 196.Conclusion 26Appendix 28References 34Figure1:Genderdiscriminatorylaws 14Figure2:Genderdiscriminatorylawsindifferentregions 15Figure3:Correlationbetweenlawindicators 15Figure4:Legalgenderequalityandincomeconvergence 16FigureA1:GapbetweendifferentpercentilesoftheWBLindex 31ESTable1:Mainresults 20Table2:Controlvariables 21Table3:Alternativeexplanations 22Table4:Alternativedefinitionsofthelawscore 23Table5:Additionalchecks 24Table6:Excludinganindicatorofgenderdiscriminatorylawsatatime 25Table7:Differentindicatorsofgenderdiscriminatorylaws 26TableA1:Descriptionofthevariables 28TableA2:Summarystatistics 28TableA3:LegalgenderequalityandincomeconvergenceinAfrica 32TableA4:Genderequalityandincomeconvergence 33IMFWORKINGPAPERSLegalGenderEqualityasaCatalystforConvergenceINTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND3Whethercross-countryincomedifferencesnarrowovertimehasbeenamajorquestionintheeconomicsliterature.Ontheotherside,thereisabundantevidencethatgenderequalityhelpscountriesattainmorefavorableeconomicoutcomesbypromotingwomen’seconomicinclusion.However,therehasbeenalackofefforttoexplorewhethergenderequalityplaysaroleinbridgingincomedifferencesacrosscountries.Thisisanimportantquestion,sinceensuringalevelplayingfieldforwomencanhelppoorereconomiesreachtheirtruepotential,andinturncatchupwiththelivingstandardsinrichercountries.Thepresentpaperexaminesthisissuebyfocusingononeofthemostvisiblebottlenecksforgenderequality,i.e.genderdiscriminationinthelaw.Itdocumentstheremarkableprogressacrosstheglobetowardlegalgenderequalitysincethe1970s,albeittodifferentextents,andfindsthatgreaterlegalgenderequalityisassociatedwithstrongerincomeconvergenceacrosscountriesovertime.Genderinequalitiesinallcornersoftheworldleavewomeneconomicallydisadvantaged,andinturngeneratestarkimbalancesineconomicoutcomes.Althoughwomenaccountforhalfoftheworld’sployedinlesssecurejobswithlimitedcareerprospects,poorerworkconditions,andlowerpay(UN2016,Dabla-NorrisandKochhar2019,Bertayetal.2020).Itisalsowelldocumentedthatwomen’sinclusioninawidelimitedcomparedtomen.1Thepervasivegender-baseddifferencesineconomicoutcomesmakegenderinequality,notonlyatterofhumanrightsbutalsoaneconomicphenomenonGainsfromprovidingalevelplayingfieldforwomenarestriking.RecentstudiesestimatethattheeconomicboostcanbelargerthanaquarterofGDPandTeignier2016,Ostryetal.2018).Therefore,women’sfullandeffectiveparticipationineconomicactivitiesisakeytomorefavorableeconomicperformance,andapriorityinthedevelopmentagenda,nableDevelopmentIMFandWorldBankWorldBankUN2015,IMF2017).1Forinstance,seeWorldBank(2012),Demirguc-Kuntetal.(2013),BlauandKahn(2017),Demirguc-KuntandSinger(2017),Delechatetal.(2018),Chenetal.(2021),ChiplunkarandGoldberg(2021),GuisoandZaccaria(2021),Ke(2021).INTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND4Thediscussiononthepositiveeffectsofgenderequalityoneconomicgrowthanddevelopmentfemalelaborforceparticipation,accumulationofhumancapital,andefficiencyofallocationinthelaborqualityimproveseconomicperformancespurstheaccumulationofhumancapitalfurtherinthelongerterm(e.g.Schultz2002,WorldBank2012).Menandwomencomplementeachotherinproductionwithdifferentskillsandperspectives,includingtowardrisk-takingandcollaboration(Ostryetal.2018).Moreover,women’seconomicinclusioncancontributetoeconomicgrowthanddevelopmentbypromotingeconomicdiversification,reducingincomeinequality,einbergandNakaneWEFGonzalesetalKazanjianetalKochharetal2017,SahayandCihak2018).Insummary,genderequalityisacriticalcogintheengineofinclusive,resilient,andsustainableeconomicgrowth.Inthisregard,actingswiftlyanddecisivelytocombatgenderdiscriminationandallowwomentoivitiesfreelycanunlockalargebutuntappedeconomicopportunitybyutilizinganunderusedsource,women.ThiscanberelevanttotheprocessofbridgingincomedifferencesacrosssovertimeIntheeconomicsliteraturewhethercrosscountryincomedifferencesnarrowpersistorwiden,overtimehasbeenamajorquestion.3ItisamatterofthedegreetowhichlessdevelopedchievethelivingstandardsintheadvancedeconomiesGreatergenderequalitycanactasacatalystinthisprocess,sinceprovidingalevelplayingfieldallowwomentofulfilltheirtruepotential,therebyenablingpoorereconomiestocatchupwiththericherones.overtimeisitspositiveimpactonproductivitygrowth.4,5Asdiscussedbytheliterature,genderequalityroughextensiveandintensivemarginsegBertayetalemovalofbarrierstowomenseconomicempowermenttranslatesintoagreatershareofwomeninthelaborforce,andthusalargerpooloftalentsavailableforrecruiters,wherebyincreasingproductivitygrowth.Ontheintensivemargin,theeffectcanworkthroughensuring2Amongothers,seeHillandKing(1995),DollarandGatti(1999),Tzannatos(1999),Klasen(2000,2002),Knowlesetal.(2002),Lagerlof(2003),Abu-GhaidaandKlasen(2004),Esteve-Volart(2004),KlasenandLamanna(2009),Duflo(2012),Elborgh-Woyteketal.(2013),Gonzalesetal.(2015),Hakuraetal.(2016),Kochharetal.(2017),Hsiehetal.(2019),Bertayetal.(2020),OuedraogoandStenzel(2021).3Amongothers,seeSolow(1956),BarroandSala-i-Martin(1992),Islam(1995),Barro(1997,2003).4Differencesinproductivitygrowtharefoundtobeamajordriverofcross-countryincomedifferences(e.g.KlenowandRodriguez-Clare1997,EasterlyandLevine2001).5InthecontextoftheSolowmodel,therateofconvergence(入)isanincreasingfunctionoftherateofchangeof“l(fā)abor-augmentingproductivity”:入=(n+h+6)(1?a)wherenisthegrowthrateofpopulation,histhegrowthrateoflabor-augmentingproductivity,6isthedepreciationrateofphysicalcapital,andaistheelasticityofoutputtophysicalcapital.INTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND5women’saccesstotheoccupationsinwhichtheycouldbemoreproductivebasedontheirowneducationiminatingexistingobstaclesforwomentobecomeentrepreneurscanfostertheimplementationofinnovativeideas,whichinturncontributestoproductivitygrowth.Lastbutnotleast,equalaccesstoeducationandhealthservicesonthebasisofgendercanalsoboostproductivity.Aspecificareathatrequiresactiontofreethiseconomicpotentialistheconstraintsonwomen’sisnotjustaresultofsocialnormsorculturalattitudesbutisalsolegitimizedbythelawaroundtheglobe(Christophersonetal.2022).Manycountriesstillupholdlawsandregulationsthatdiscriminateagainstwomenthroughouttheirworklife.Insomecountries,womencannotgetajob,startabusiness,travelwithoutthehusband’spermission,orgetaccesstocredit.Suchlegalbarrierstowomen’sfullandeffectiveparticipationineconomicactivitieslimittheabilityandcapacityofeconomiestotakeadvantageofareadilyavailableopportunitybyleavingwomenasanunderutilizedresource.Thisinturncouldpreventeconomiesfromprospering,andleavethembehindintheprocessofeconomicdevelopment.Althoughdiscriminationagainstwomeninthelawisoneofthemostobviousformsofgenderweverchdejurechangesingenderdiscriminatorylawswouldtranslateintodefactoimprovements,sincemanyotherfactors,suchassocialnormsorculturalattitudes(whichtakealongertimetochange)canshapethoseoutcomesaswell.Againstthisbackdrop,thelegalangesininformalcodes(WilliamsonandKerekes2011,Aldashevetal.2021,Christophersonetal.2022).Inaddition,thereexistsTheliteraturefindsthattacklinggender-basedlegalimpedimentscangeneratepositiveconsequencesonesintheassociationsbetweengenderequalityreformsandwomen’seconomicempowermentsuggestthatabolishingthelawsthatsidelinewomenindeedpaysoff.6However,itisimportanttonotethattheprocessofreformsisnotstandardacrosscountriesinpractice,anddependsonthecountry-specificcontext.Thecomplexityofthelegalsystem,institutionalarrangements,andtraditionsthattheexistinglawsrepresentmaymakelegalreformstowardgenderequalitymoredifficulttoachieve.Therefore,theideathatdifferentgender-basedreformscanbeundertakensmoothlyandquicklymaynotbeveryreasonableinsomecases.Christophersonetal.(2022)providesanexcellentdiscussiononthisissuewithcountry-specificexamples.Againstthisbackdrop,though,manycountriesacrosstheworldadoptedgenderequalityreformsthatwereperceivedasinfeasiblebefore,asexemplifiedbytheauthors.7Forinstance,Khan(1996),Agarwal(2003),Combs(2005,2006),Daleyetal.(2010),Geddesetal.(2012),Deiningeretal.(2013),Demirguc-Kuntetal.(2013),Gonzalesetal.(2015),IMF(2015),Voena(2015),Crismanetal.(2016),Delechatetal.(2018),Hazanetal.(2019),Hylandetal.(2020a,2020b,2021),HylandandIslam(2021).INTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND6Puttingtheselinkstogether,thispapershedslightontheroleoflegalgenderequality,i.e.alegalframeworkwhereinthelawsdonotdiscriminateonthebasisofgender,inincomeconvergenceacrosscountriesovertime.ThedataoninequalitiesinlegislationarefromtheWorldBank’sWomen,BusinessandtheLawdatabase.Itcapturesinequalitiesindomesticlawsandregulationsthroughoutwomen’sworkonwomen’sparticipationineconomicactivities,including(i)mobility,(ii)protectionintheworkplace,(iii)Theseareascoverthelegalconstraintsthatcanleadtoexclusionofwomenfromtheworkforcetostartwith(restrictionsonmobility,protectioninworkplace,obligationstohusbandformarriedwomen),gender-ddisparitiesinearningsforthesameworklawsregardingpayunequaltreatmentofwomenwhenitcomestohavingachild(parenthoodlawsrelatedtothepregnancyperiodandafterwards),obstaclesforwomentostarttheirownbusiness(lawsonentrepreneurship),unfairtreatmentforassetownershipandinheritance(asspousesandchildren),aswellasdisadvantagesonthebasisofgenderinthecaseofretirementbenefits(pensionlaws).8Thispaperfirstdocumentsthattherehasbeenremarkableprogresstowardlegalgenderequalityoverthelastfivedecades,albeittodifferentextents.Globally,onaverage,womenhadabouthalfoftherightsthatmenhadin1970,whereasthisreachedaroundthreequartersin2019.This,however,alsorevealsthatthelegalenvironmentaroundtheglobeisstillfarfromensuringequaleconomicopportunitiesforwomen,intrudingallaspectsoftheirworklife.Lookingatafurtherbreakdown,thisratioisevenlowerenthoodandpensionInadditiondespitethewidespreadstrideacrosstheglobe,thepaceofchangehasbeenunevenacrosscountries.Asaresult,cross-countrygapsingenderdiscriminatorylawshavepersistedandevenwidenedovertheyears.Insomecountries,womenstillhavelessthanhalfofthelegalrightsrelativetomen,whereassomeothercountrieshavebecomemuchclosertolegalgenderequalitybyrepealinggenderdiscriminatorylawsoverthelastfiftyyears.Theempiricalresults,basedonaglobalsampleoverthelastfivedecades,showthatgreatergenderequalityinthelawcatalyzesincomeconvergenceacrosscountries.Thesizeoftheimpactiseconomicallysignificant.Theestimatessuggestthat,asacountrywith,say,a50%lowerGDPpercapitatspeersinitiallyclimbsfromthethtothethpercentileofthesamplethegrowthrateofitspercapitaincomebecomes0.3percentagepointshigherperannum,onaverageduringthesubsequentfromarelativelyhighergenderequalityinthelaw,andwherebyallowingitsincomeleveltocatchupwith8Hylandetal.(2020b)providesasummaryofthestrandsoftheliteraturethatshowevidenceontherelationshipbetweeneachofthesespecificlegaldimensionscoveredbytheWBLindexandwomen’seconomicempowerment.9Inthesample,thiscorrespondstomakingprogresstowardgenderequalitybyaboutaquarter.Asanexample,itmeansmovingtoalegalframeworkinwhichwomenhavethreequartersoftheeconomicrightsrelativetomen,wherethisratioisonehalftostartwith.INTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND7SharanAfricaaverageGDPpercapitaduringthe2010sstoodataboutonefourthofthatofthecountriesinEurope&CentralAsia.10amountofprogressregardinglegalgenderequalityinSub-SharanAfricacouldleadtoaround0.4percentagepointshigherpercapitaGDPgrowthinannualterms(therebyfacilitatingtheprocessthroughwhichtheincomelevelintheregioncancatchupwiththatTheseofferlargegainsintermsofeconomicgrowthanddevelopment,suggestingthatascountrieseliminategenderbiasanddiscriminationinthelaw,theyindeedreaptheeconomicbenefitsthroughthecanhelppoorercountriescatchupwiththelivingstandardsinrichereconomies.Focusingonafurtherbreakdown,gender-basedlegalimpedimentsregardingworkplace,pay,marriage,parenthood,andpensionseemtobeparticularlyimportantforincomeconvergence.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatotheraspectsofthelawarenotrelevant.Interlinkagesandspilloversacrossdifferentdimensionsofgenderdiscriminatorylawsarecrucialtotakeintoconsideration.Forinstance,ifamewayasmenevaluatedunderthemobilityindicatorthelawsthatprohibitdiscriminationintheworkplacewouldnotbeveryeffectiveforwomen’seconomicinclusioninpractice,sincetheformersignificantlyrestrictstheircapacitytoenterthelaborforceinthefirstplace.Therefore,theprogresstotacklegenderdiscriminatorylawsshouldcontinuewithaholisticview.Theimplicationsofthefindingsarefar-reachinginthepost-pandemicperiod.TheCovid-19crisisexistingcross-countryincomegaps(FilippiniandYeyati2021,IMF2021),andgenderimbalanceswithinendisproportionatelyAlonetalTanejaetalChristophersonetal2022).Theresultsonthecatalystroleofgender-equallawsincross-countryincomeconvergenceofferreasonsforoptimismbyofferingawindowofopportunityforlessdevelopedcountries:Astheyreformgenderdiscriminatorylaws,thiscanhelpthemmitigatethescarringeffectsoftheCovid-19shockonlivingstandardsintheirricherpeers.Furthermore,tacklinglegalimpedimentstowomen’seconomicempowermentcanalleviatetheadverseimpactofthepandemicongenderinequality,therebysettingthestageforaninclusive,resilient,andsustainablegrowthpathgoingforward.Itisimportant,however,toacknowledgethatreformstowardgenderequalityinthelawarejustaProgressinallareasneedstobemade.Forinstance,effortstoimprovewomen’saccesstoeducation,10Thedefinitionof“Europe&CentralAsia”isadoptedfromtheWorldBank’sclassification,andexcludeshighincomecountries.SeetheAppendixforthelistofcountriesineachgroup.INTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND8health,andfinancialservicesalsoaffecteconomicperformance(e.g.KlasenandLamanna2009,Jain-Chandraetal.2018).Inaddition,assucheffortsgohandinhandwiththelaw,theycancontributetothepaceandthedegreeofthetranslationoflegalreforms(ascoveredbythepresentpaper)intooutcomes.11whichsometimescantakemoretime(suchaschangingsocialnormsandculturalattitudes)relativetotheremovalofgender-basedlegalbarriersButasnotedbeforereforminglawsisafirststepformanycountriestokickstartsinceitismostlikelytobeachievableintheshorterterm.Thepresentstudyshowsthatprogressinthatrespectindeedbearsfruitandyieldsbettereconomicperformancebyfacilitatingcross-countryincomeconvergence.Thefindingsbeingspecifictotheareaofthelaw,therefore,provideabasisforoptimism.ThispapercontributestothelongliteratureontheeffectsofgenderequalityongrowthandedabovebyfocusingonarelatedbutdifferentquestionInsteadoftheroleofgenderequalityinexplainingthesizeofcross-countrydifferencesinincomeasfoundbythepreviousstudies,thestheevolutionofthosedifferencesovererthelivingstandardsinacountryimproveifthereexistsgreatergenderequality.Thelatter,ontheotherhand,aimstoexplainwhethersomecountriesleadorlagintheprocessofeconomicdevelopment,dependingonthedegreeofgenderequality.Hence,beyondtheroleofgenderequalityinunderstandingurrentgapsinincomeacrosscountriesthequestionthispaperinvestigatesishowitshapesthefutureofibutionandwhetheritactsasacatalystforbridgingexistingincomegapsacrosscountriesoverthelongerterm.Thispaperalsoextendstheextantliteratureonincomeconvergenceacrosscountries(ascitedcesswherebypoorercountriestendrebyshowingevidencethatgenderequality,specificallyintherealmofthelaw,strengthenstheconvergenceprocess.Therestofthispaperisorganizedasfollows.Section2explainsthedataandthevariables.Section3illustratesthestylizedfacts.Section4introducestheempiricalmethodology.Section5documentsanddiscussestheresults.Finally,Section6concludes.11Inthiscontext,theroleoflegalgenderequalityincross-countryincomeconvergence,asfoundbythisstudy,canbeviewedasalowerbound.INTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND9ataThissectionexplainsthedataandthevariables.Forabriefdescription,seetheAppendix(TableA1).1.GenderdiscriminatorylawsinessandtheLaw(WBL)database,whichiscompiledbyalargeteamoftheWorldBank’slegalexpertstogetherwithndpublicofficialsItprovidesinformationonlawsandregulationsaffectingwomen’seconomicinclusionaroundtheglobesince1970.Ithaseightindicatorsfocusingondifferentstagesofwomen’sworklife,startingfromtheentryintothelaborforcethroughtheretirementperiod.Theindicatorsgaugetheextentofgender-baseddiscriminationindomesticlawson(i)mobility,(ii)workplace,(iii)pay,(iv)marriage,(v)parenthood,(vi)entrepreneurship,(vii)ownershipofassets,and(viii)pensionsystem.Theindicatormobilityassessestheconstraintsonwomen’sagencyandfreedomofmovementcapacityofwomentowork,aswellasthemeasurestopreventdiscriminationintheworkplace.Payevaluatesthelawsthatimpactthegenderwagegap.Marriageisrelatedtothelegallimitationsonwomentomarryanddivorceincludingtheabilitytobetheheadofhousehold.TheparenthoodindicatorrelatestofeduringandafterpregnancyEntrepreneurshipfocusesonwhetherwomencanlegallystartandrunbusinesses.Theassetsindicatorlooksatgenderdiscriminationinpropertyandinheritancelaws.Finally,pensioncoversthediscriminationagainstwomenrelatedtothelawsonpensionsystem.Foreachoftheseeightindicators,ascoreisconstructedbasedontheanswersto4,or5,binary(Yes/No)questions.12Wheneverthereisalegalconstraintonwomen(theanswertoaquestionis“No”),thatquestionisassigned0.Fortheindicatorswherethereexist4(5)questionsintotal,eachanswerpointingtogenderequalityadds25(20)pointstothescore.Therefore,eachindicatorhasascorethatofthelaw.Oncethescoresfortheindividualindicatorsareconstructed,theunweightedaverageoftheseeightscoresisusedtocalculatetheoveralllawscore,so-calledtheWBLindex.13Byconstruction,theoveralllawscoreisscaledbetween0and100,withhighervaluesindicatinggreatergenderequalityinthe12Forthesetofthequestionsundereachindicator,seetheAppendix.13Therefore,theWBLindex,beingtheunweightedaverageoftheindividualscores,iscalculatedbyassigninganequalimportancetoalleightindicators.Thisisindeedanassumptiontoberevisitedbelow.IMFWORKINGPAPERSLegalGenderEqualityasaCatalystforConvergenceINTERNATIONALMONETARYFUND10thatmenhave,andanindexof100indicatesperfectequalitybetweenwomenandmen.ItisworthwhiletonoteafewadvantagesanddisadvantagesofusingtheWBLdatabase.First,lyforborderlinesituationsandpartialreforms.Second,thedatabaseevaluatesthelegalframeworkrelyingonvariousstandardizedassumptionswhichensurethecomparabilityacrosscountries