Gender Differences in Cooperative Environments? Evidence from the U.S. Congress

Stefano Gagliarducci and M. Daniele Paserman

No 22488, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper uses data on bill sponsorship and cosponsorship in the U.S. House of Representatives to estimate gender differences in cooperative behavior. We employ a number of econometric methodologies to address the potential selection of female representatives into electoral districts with distinct preferences for cooperativeness, including regression discontinuity and matching. After accounting for selection, we find that among Democrats there is no significant gender gap in the number of cosponsors recruited, but women-sponsored bills tend to have fewer cosponsors from the opposite party. On the other hand, we find robust evidence that Republican women recruit more cosponsors and attract more bipartisan support on the bills that they sponsor. This is particularly true on bills that address issues more relevant for women, over which female Republicans have possibly preferences that are closer to those of Democrats. We interpret these results as evidence that cooperation is mostly driven by a commonality of interest, rather than gender per se.

JEL-codes: D70 D72 H50 J16 M50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-dem, nep-hrm, nep-lab and nep-pol
Note: LS POL
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published as Stefano Gagliarducci & M Daniele Paserman, 2022. "Gender Differences in Cooperative Environments? Evidence from The U.S. Congress," The Economic Journal, vol 132(641), pages 218-257.

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Journal Article: Gender Differences in Cooperative Environments? Evidence from The U.S. Congress (2022)
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Cooperative Environments? Evidence from the U.S. Congress (2016)
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