Reproducibility package for “I Want To Break Free”: How Laws And Social Norms Open Doors For Women – A Literature Review

This paper develops a conceptual framework to analyze how gendered social norms mediate the effects of legal frameworks on women’s economic empowerment. Using the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) domains, Safety, Mobility, Work, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Childcare, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension, as an organizing structure, we conduct a targeted, systematic review of 130 studies focused on nearly 30 single-country cases and diverse regional or multi-country contexts. Each study is coded by domain, research method, and type of norm–law interaction, allowing us to classify patterns of evidence and identify gaps. We find that only 56% of reviewed studies establish causal relationships, with most relying on cross-sectional data and concentrated in high-income countries. Qualitative research provides rich contextual insights but remains fragmented. The review highlights the scarcity of longitudinal and intersectional data, and limited evidence on the link or causal relationship between legal reforms and gendered social norms. Although not exhaustive, the paper offers both a conceptual and data-based map of the literature.