Can gender quotas in candidate lists empower women? Evidence from a regression discontinuity design

Manuel Bagues and Pamela Campa ()

Journal of Public Economics, 2021, vol. 194, issue C

Abstract: We provide a comprehensive analysis of the short- and medium-term effects of gender quotas in candidate lists using evidence from local elections in Spain. In the context of a closed list system with proportional representation, quotas were introduced in 2007 in municipalities with more than 5000 inhabitants, and were extended in 2011 to municipalities with more than 3000 inhabitants. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design, we find that quotas increased the share of women in candidate lists by around 8 p.p. and among council members by 4 p.p. However, within three rounds of elections, we do not observe any significant variation in several proxies of politicians’ quality, the probability that women reach powerful positions such as party leader or mayor, or the size and composition of public finances. Overall, our analysis suggests that quotas in candidate lists fail to remove the barriers that prevent women from playing an influential role in politics.

Keywords: Gender quotas; Regression discontinuity design; Women in politics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (51)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Can Gender Quotas in Candidate Lists Empower Women? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design (2017)
Working Paper: Can Gender Quotas in Candidate Lists Empower Women? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design (2017)
Working Paper: Can Gender Quotas in Candidate Lists Empower Women? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:194:y:2021:i:c:s0047272720301791

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104315

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