PATHBREAKERS? WOMEN'S ELECTORAL SUCCESS AND FUTURE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

We investigate whether the event of women being competitively elected as state legislators encourages subsequent political participation among women. Using a regression discontinuity design on Indian constituency level data, we find that female incumbents are more likely than male incumbents to re-c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Economic journal (London) 2018-08, Vol.128 (613), p.1844-1878
Main Authors: Bhalotra, Sonia, Clots-Figueras, Irma, Iyer, Lakshmi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Candidates
Discontinuity
Economic theory
Legislators
Males
Political behavior
Political participation
Politics
Sexism
Women
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Summary:We investigate whether the event of women being competitively elected as state legislators encourages subsequent political participation among women. Using a regression discontinuity design on Indian constituency level data, we find that female incumbents are more likely than male incumbents to re-contest and that there is a decline in the entry of new women candidates. This decline is most pronounced in states with entrenched gender bias and in male-headed parties, suggesting an intensification of barriers against women in these areas. Similar results for (mostly male) Muslim candidates indicate the presence of institutionalised demand-side barriers rather than gender-specific preferences and constraints.
ISSN:0013-0133
1468-0297
DOI:10.1111/ecoj.12492