Who cares about childcare? Covid-19 and gender differences in local public spending

Alda Marchese (), Paola Profeta () and Giulia Savio ()
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Alda Marchese: Università della Svizzera italiana
Paola Profeta: Università Bocconi, AXA Gender Lab
Giulia Savio: Università Bocconi, AXA Gender Lab

International Tax and Public Finance, 2025, vol. 32, issue 6, No 14, 1990-2010

Abstract: Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic increased the salience of childcare and focused attention on the allocation of public funds for it. Focusing on Italy, one of the first countries severely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, we analyze how male and female politicians responded to the Covid-19 pandemic in the allocation of funds to childcare. To assess causality, we analyze close mixed-gender races in Italian local elections in small municipalities without gender quotas from 2016 to 2023. Our findings show that pre Covid-19 female mayors spent more on childcare than male mayors. However, during the pandemic, the gender gap closed, as male mayors increased spending, a trend that continued in the post pandemic period.

Keywords: Covid-19; Women in politics; Regression discontinuity; Local public expenditure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 H75 J45 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10797-025-09887-8

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