Learning about women's competence: the dynamic response of political parties to gender quotas in South Korea

Jay Euijung Lee and Martina Zanella

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We study the dynamic responses of political parties to gender quotas in South Korean municipal councils, a setting with nearly zero women pre-quota. We exploit two unique institutional features: the quota intensity is discontinuous in council size; the quota regulates only one of two election arms. Political parties initially counteract the quota by nominating fewer women in the unregulated arm, but gradually reverse this response over time. Guided by a dynamic model of discrimination, we uncover statistical discrimination with incorrect beliefs about women's competence as the main mechanism driving party behavior. The quota triggers learning through exposure to competent women.

Keywords: gender quota; political parties; discrimination; biased beliefs; learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2024-09-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pol
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