Women in Political Power and School Closure during COVID Times

Natalia Danzer, Sebastian Garcia-Torres (), Max Steinhardt () and Luca Stella ()
Additional contact information
Luca Stella: University of Milan

No 15975, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This study explores the relationship between women's representation in political power and school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a cross-country dataset in Europe, we document a striking negative relationship between the share of female members in national governments and school closures. We show that a one standard deviation increase in female members of national governments is associated with a reduction in the likelihood of school lockdowns by 24% relative to the average share of school closures. This result is robust to an extensive set of sensitivity checks. We attribute this pattern to a higher awareness of female politicians about the potential costs that school closures imply for families.

Keywords: gender; COVID-19; school closures; political economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H52 I18 I20 J13 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2023-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen, nep-lab, nep-pol and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Economic Policy, 2024, 39 (120), 765–810

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Journal Article: Women in political power and school closure during COVID times* (2024)
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