法律如何促进经济机会：综述（英）

Policy Research Working Paper11268How Laws Promote Economic OpportunitiesA ReviewFabiola Saavedra-CaballeroAna Maria Tribin Caroline PerrinDevelopment Economics Global Indicators GroupDecember 2025 A verified reproducibility package for this paper is available at http://reproducibility.worldbank.org, click here for direct access. Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedProduced by the Research Support TeamAbstractThe Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.Policy Research Working Paper 11268This paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature on how legal frameworks, regulations, and rights influence women’s economic opportunities. Drawing on the Women, Business and the Law 2024 framework as a reference point, the paper adopts a life cycle approach to examine how legal frameworks and policies shape women’s roles as economic actors across different stages of their working lives. It high-lights strong evidence showing that the abolition or reform of gender-discriminatory laws can enhance women’s eco-nomic empowerment by shifting both legal constraints and embedded social norms, although the magnitude and nature of these effects vary across contexts. Persistent gaps are identified in key areas such as pension systems, childcare legislation, and protection against gender-based violence. The review underscores that legal reform alone is insuffi-cient: advancing women’s economic opportunities requires a combination of well-designed laws, their effective enforce-ment, and complementary policies that address informal institutional barriers. Nevertheless, legal reforms can serve as a meaningful first step toward ensuring better economic opportunities for women. This paper is a product of the Global Indicators Group, Development Economics. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://www.worldbank.org/prwp. The authors may be contacted at fsaavedra@worldbank.org, atribinuribe@worldbank.org, and cperrin@worldbank.org. A verified reproducibility package for this paper is available at http://reproducibility.worldbank.org, click here for direct access. POLICY RESEA