Does gender matter for public spending? Empirical evidence from Italian municipalities
Massimiliano Rigon (massimiliano.rigon@bancaditalia.it) and
Giulia Martina Tanzi (giuliamartina.tanzi@bancaditalia.it)
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Giulia Martina Tanzi: Bank of Italy
No 862, Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area
Abstract:
This paper studies whether the allocation of municipal expenditure in Italy is influenced by female representation in Municipal Councils. Despite the existence of gender-specific preferences in society, we find no clear evidence that the amount of resources distributed among different spending categories is significantly affected by politicians� gender. The results are robust to a large variety of specifications and estimation techniques, where we also take into account the existence of an endogeneity problem. This is addressed using an instrumental variable approach, based on a temporary change in Italian law that reserved a gender quota in party lists for municipal elections, thus causing an exogenous increase in the number of women elected in Municipal Councils. The substantial absence of a gender bias is consistent with the median voter theorem, suggesting that politicians� preferences and personal characteristics do not matter in public choices. Alternatively, it may be that gender is not one of the determinants of politicians� voting behaviour, implying that the preferences of the women involved in political activities are close to those of their male colleagues.
Keywords: gender; political representation; municipal expenditure; instrumental variable (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 C36 D78 H72 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-pol
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_862_12
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