Remittance-Induced Decision-Making Power at Home and Women’s Political Participation

Abstract This article examines how remittances play an instrumental role in strengthening the political participation of women in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The argument presented here is that remittances enhance women’s decision-making power at households, which, in turn, assists them to take a more active role in both non-electoral (i.e. attending community meetings, contacting public officials) and electoral (i.e. voting) forms of political participation. Using data from the Afrobarometer Survey Round 7, the analysis finds strong evidence that remittances are a significant predictor of women’s non-electoral participation but not of electoral participation.