Women in Parliaments and Environmentally Friendly Fiscal Policies: A Global Analysis

Aysen Simsek Kandemir (), Ramshah Rashid Lone and Rasim Simsek
Additional contact information
Aysen Simsek Kandemir: Hereke Vocational School, Kocaeli University, 41800 Kocaeli, Turkey
Ramshah Rashid Lone: Faculty of Business and Law, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford CM1 1SQ, UK
Rasim Simsek: Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Bilecik Seyh Edebali University, 11100 Bilecik, Turkey

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-27

Abstract: This study explores the intricate interplay between female representation in national parliaments and government fiscal policies, with a specific focus on fossil fuel subsidies, environmental taxes, and expenditure, in the context of climate change mitigation. Using a sample of 160 countries over the period from 1997 to 2022, this empirical analysis demonstrates the positive relationship between the presence of female parliamentarians and environmentally friendly fiscal measures. While women in the parliaments reduce the amount of the subsidies granted to fossil fuels, they levy environmental taxes and increase environmental spending. The findings illustrate the pivotal role of female parliamentarians in advocating for environmental legislation and transcending political ideologies and national boundaries. Addressing potential concerns of endogeneity by employing additional control variables, omitted variables, and instrumental variable analyses, this study emphasises the robustness of the results. Notably, this study finds that a critical mass of at least 30% female representation in parliaments enhances the efficacy of environmental policy outcomes. This research highlights the multifaceted impact of gender diversity on fiscal policies related to environmental protection, offering valuable insights for policymakers and organisations committed to sustainability and gender equality.

Keywords: female parliamentarians; gender diversity; environmental sustainability; critical mass theory; 2SLS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/17/7669/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/17/7669/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:17:p:7669-:d:1470950

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().