Replication Data for: Trading Up Half the Sky? Trade Openness and Gender Equality Perceptions in China

This paper investigates whether trade openness shapes individuals’ views on gender equality in China—the largest developing country that promotes free trade. Drawing upon international trade models and the theories of authoritarian politics, this paper argues that trade openness has a heterogeneous effect on one’s gender equality perceptions. Women gain rising economic benefits in traded sectors, which changes the public’s perception of women's economic independence. The absence of independent and accountable institutions for women in these countries, however, strengthens people’s gender stereotypes in leadership. Several multilevel models, along with robustness checks, confirm my argument in the context of contemporary Chinese society by linking the World Value Survey’s China Module and several macroeconomic indicators in 2012. This research implies that without liberal democratic institutions, the export-led strategy in developing countries advances the norm of women's economic equality at the cost of her political influence.