Let the Voters Choose Women

Audinga Baltrunaite, Alessandra Casarico, Paola Profeta and Giulia Savio

No 5693, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We study the effectiveness of a novel measure to reduce gender gaps in political empowerment: double preference voting conditioned on gender, coupled with gender quotas on candidate lists. This policy was introduced in 2013 in Italian local elections. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that the share of female councilors rises by 18 percentage points. The result is mainly driven by an increase in preference votes cast for female candidates. We also find evidence of changes in the expenditure allocation in municipalities subject to the policy.

Keywords: gender quotas; preference votes; municipal elections; regression discontinuity; local public expenditure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 J45 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

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Journal Article: Let the voters choose women (2019)
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