Center for Social Data Analytics Colloquium-Sergio Montero, University of Rochester
Oct 10, 2024
12:00 PM
- 1:00 PM
Where:
B001 Sparks- The Databasement
Contact:
Jodi Guy
814-863-8346
jlg6358@psu.edu

Center for Social Data Analytics Colloquium-Sergio Montero, University of Rochester

Sergio Montero, University of Rochester

More information  “Are Women Better Politicians? Discrimination, Gender Quotas, and Electoral Accountability”

Abstract:

Gender quotas have been instrumental in addressing the political underrepresentation of women, and there is growing evidence that politician gender may significantly affect public policy.  Yet the sources of these gender differences have not been examined from an electoral accountability perspective, nor has the role of having a quota system in place.  Using novel data on constituent evaluations of municipal councilors in Mumbai, India—where reserved-seat gender quotas are assigned by lottery—we develop and estimate an accountability model in which male incumbents face probabilistic term limits.  We find that female councilors significantly outperform their male counterparts, but reserved-seat quotas have countervailing selection and discipline effects.  Due to taste-based discrimination by voters, counterfactual experiments reveal that gender quotas are indispensable to ensure women are not politically underrepresented.  However, the latter can be achieved while improving voter welfare by mitigating the perverse incentives of term limits.