Does Local Female Political Representation Empower Women to Run for Higher Office? Evidence from State and National Legislatures in India

Ryan Brown, Hani Mansour and Stephen D O’Connell

The World Bank Economic Review, 2022, vol. 36, issue 1, 198-218

Abstract: Does increasing the number of women in career stages that precede high-level positions affect female representation at the top of the career ladder? State legislature elections narrowly won by female candidates in India are exploited to examine the effect of expanding the pipeline of women in local politics on subsequent female representation and success in national legislature elections. For each additional state legislature election won by a woman, there is a 34 percent increase in the number of female candidates contesting in the subsequent national election, and a 2.6 percentage-point increase in the average vote share won per female candidate. This relationship is driven by new female politicians and not by the progression of female state legislators nor by continued candidacy of previous female candidates for the national legislature.

Keywords: gender gap; political representation; public service; empowerment; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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