Women in Political Bodies as Policymakers

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Baskaran, Thushyanthan; Hessami, Zohal
• 署名单位: Ruhr University Bochum; Leibniz Association; Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW); Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; IZA Institute Labor Economics
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01352
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: gender; election; REPRESENTATION; suffrage

摘要

We investigate how female representation impacts policymaking using the example of child care and new hand-collected data on local council elections in Bavaria. RDD estimations (mixed-gender races for last party-specific council seats) show that an additional female councilor accelerates the expansion of public child care by 40%. We also document an important nonlinearity: an additional woman accelerates the expansion of child care only in councils with few women. Council meeting minutes reveal that women can be effective in councils despite being a nonpivotal minority because they change the conversation.