IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/anresc/v74y2025i2d10.1007_s00168-025-01377-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender politics, environmental behaviours, and local territories: evidence from Italian municipalities

Author

Listed:
  • Chiara Lodi

    (University of Urbino Carlo Bo
    SEEDS)

  • Agnese Sacchi

    (University of Urbino Carlo Bo)

  • Francesco Vidoli

    (University of Urbino Carlo Bo)

Abstract

We investigated the impact of female politicians on waste collection in Italian municipalities in different territories observed over the years 2010–2019. We used a staggered difference-in-differences design to obtain a causal interpretation of the estimated effects. We find that the majority of women in the municipal council positively influence pro-environmental individual behaviour. The impact of a female-majority council is heterogeneous by region and more pronounced in areas with lower social capital. Female politicians as catalysts for positive change fade after 5–6 years, likely due to persistent social norms locally, thus stressing the need for additional cultural actions with long-lasting effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Lodi & Agnese Sacchi & Francesco Vidoli, 2025. "Gender politics, environmental behaviours, and local territories: evidence from Italian municipalities," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 74(2), pages 1-33, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:74:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s00168-025-01377-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s00168-025-01377-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00168-025-01377-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00168-025-01377-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Damiano Fiorillo, 2013. "Household waste recycling: national survey evidence from Italy," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(8), pages 1125-1151, October.
    2. Clots-Figueras, Irma, 2011. "Women in politics: Evidence from the Indian States," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 664-690, August.
    3. de Chaisemartin, Clément & D’Haultfœuille, Xavier, 2023. "Two-way fixed effects and differences-in-differences estimators with several treatments," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 236(2).
    4. Hessami, Zohal & da Fonseca, Mariana Lopes, 2020. "Female political representation and substantive effects on policies: A literature review," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    5. Patricia Funk & Christina Gathmann, 2015. "Gender gaps in policy making: evidence from direct democracy in Switzerland," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 30(81), pages 141-181.
    6. Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson, 2025. "Culture, Institutions, and Social Equilibria: A Framework," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 63(2), pages 637-692, June.
    7. Casarico, Alessandra & Lattanzio, Salvatore & Profeta, Paola, 2022. "Women and local public finance," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    8. De Paola, Maria & Scoppa, Vincenzo & Lombardo, Rosetta, 2010. "Can gender quotas break down negative stereotypes? Evidence from changes in electoral rules," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(5-6), pages 344-353, June.
    9. Bagues, Manuel & Campa, Pamela, 2021. "Can gender quotas in candidate lists empower women? Evidence from a regression discontinuity design," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    10. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2023. "Simple approaches to nonlinear difference-in-differences with panel data," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 26(3), pages 31-66.
    11. Baltrunaite, Audinga & Bello, Piera & Casarico, Alessandra & Profeta, Paola, 2014. "Gender quotas and the quality of politicians," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 62-74.
    12. Braga, Michela & Scervini, Francesco, 2017. "The performance of politicians: The effect of gender quotas," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-14.
    13. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D’Haultfœuille, 2023. "Two-way fixed effects and differences-in-differences with heterogeneous treatment effects: a survey," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 26(3), pages 1-30.
    14. De Paola, Maria & Scoppa, Vincenzo & De Benedetto, Marco Alberto, 2014. "The impact of gender quotas on electoral participation: Evidence from Italian municipalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 141-157.
    15. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2006. "Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 23-48, Spring.
    16. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    17. Liu, Chelsea, 2018. "Are women greener? Corporate gender diversity and environmental violations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 118-142.
    18. Valeria Bucci & Giancarlo Ferrara & Giuliano Resce, 2024. "Female presence in local government and cost efficiency: the case of Italian municipalities," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(1), pages 16-29, January.
    19. Baltrunaite, Audinga & Casarico, Alessandra & Profeta, Paola & Savio, Giulia, 2019. "Let the voters choose women," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    20. Roy Cerqueti & M. Cinelli L. F. Minervini, 2021. "Municipal waste management: a complex network approach with an application to Italy," Post-Print hal-03789102, HAL.
    21. Elisa Chioatto & Paolo Sospiro, 2023. "Transition from waste management to circular economy: the European Union roadmap," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 249-276, January.
    22. Julian Agyeman & Briony Angus, 2003. "The Role of Civic Environmentalism in the Pursuit of Sustainable Communities," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 345-363.
    23. Nicolae Stef & Sami Ben Jabeur, 2023. "Elections and Environmental Quality," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(2), pages 593-625, February.
    24. Massimiliano Ferraresi & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Matteo Mazzarano & Leonzio Rizzo & Riccardo Secomandi, 2023. "Waste recycling and yardstick competition among Italian provinces after the EU Waste Framework Directive," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(8), pages 1535-1545, August.
    25. Gabriella De Sario & Giovanni Marin & Agnese Sacchi, 2023. "Citizens' attitudes towards climate mitigation policies: The role of occupational exposure in EU countries," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(2), pages 255-280, May.
    26. Davide Cipullo, 2023. "When Women Take All: Direct Election and Female Leadership," CESifo Working Paper Series 10229, CESifo.
    27. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Tarverdi, Yashar, 2019. "Gender and climate change: Do female parliamentarians make difference?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 151-164.
    28. Ermini, Barbara & Santolini, Raffaella & Ciommi, Mariateresa, 2023. "Equitable and sustainable well-being in Italian municipalities: Do women in politics make the difference?," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    29. Räty, R. & Carlsson-Kanyama, A., 2010. "Energy consumption by gender in some European countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 646-649, January.
    30. Crociata, Alessandro & Agovino, Massimiliano & Sacco, Pier Luigi, 2015. "Recycling waste: Does culture matter?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 40-47.
    31. Lassébie, Julie, 2020. "Gender quotas and the selection of local politicians: Evidence from French municipal elections," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    32. Dassonneville, Ruth & Kostelka, Filip, 2021. "The Cultural Sources of the Gender Gap in Voter Turnout," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(3), pages 1040-1061, July.
    33. Brian Asquith & Judith K. Hellerstein & Mark J. Kutzbach & David Neumark, 2021. "Social capital determinants and labor market networks," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 212-260, January.
    34. Lombardo, Rosetta & Ricotta, Fernanda, 2022. "Individual trust and quality of regional government," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(5), pages 745-766, October.
    35. Robert B. Barsky & F. Thomas Juster & Miles S. Kimball & Matthew D. Shapiro, 1997. "Preference Parameters and Behavioral Heterogeneity: An Experimental Approach in the Health and Retirement Study," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 537-579.
    36. Baker, Andrew C. & Larcker, David F. & Wang, Charles C.Y., 2022. "How much should we trust staggered difference-in-differences estimates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 370-395.
    37. Calcagnini, Giorgio & Perugini, Francesco, 2019. "Social capital and well-being in the Italian provinces," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    38. Gaetano Musella & Massimiliano Agovino & Mariaconcetta Casaccia & Alessandro Crociata, 2019. "Evaluating waste collection management: the case of macro-areas and municipalities in Italy," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(6), pages 2857-2889, December.
    39. Giuliana Birindelli & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Marco Savioli, 2019. "The impact of women leaders on environmental performance: Evidence on gender diversity in banks," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1485-1499, November.
    40. Spaziani, Sara, 2022. "Can gender quotas break the glass ceiling? Evidence from Italian municipal elections," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    41. Andreoli, Francesco & Manzoni, Elena & Margotti, Margherita, 2022. "Women at work: Gender quotas, municipal elections and local spending," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    42. Imbens,Guido W. & Rubin,Donald B., 2015. "Causal Inference for Statistics, Social, and Biomedical Sciences," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521885881, Enero-Abr.
    43. Bush, Sarah Sunn & Clayton, Amanda, 2023. "Facing Change: Gender and Climate Change Attitudes Worldwide," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 117(2), pages 591-608, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ermini, Barbara & Santolini, Raffaella & Ciommi, Mariateresa, 2023. "Equitable and sustainable well-being in Italian municipalities: Do women in politics make the difference?," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Israel García & Bernd Hayo, 2023. "Fiscal Reform in Spanish Municipalities: Gender Differences in Budgetary Adjustment," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202306, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    3. Andreoli, Francesco & Manzoni, Elena & Margotti, Margherita, 2022. "Women at work: Gender quotas, municipal elections and local spending," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    4. Cella, Michela & Manzoni, Elena, 2023. "Gender bias and women’s political performance," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Baraldi, Anna Laura & Fosco, Giovanni, 2025. "Clearing the air: Women in politics and air pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    6. Chauvin, Juan Pablo & Tricaud, Clemence, 2022. "Gender and Electoral Incentives: Evidence from Crisis Response," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12411, Inter-American Development Bank.
    7. Thomas Le & Julien Sauvagnat, 2022. "Electoral Competition, Voter Bias, and Women in Politics," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 352-394.
    8. Casarico, Alessandra & Lattanzio, Salvatore & Profeta, Paola, 2022. "Women and local public finance," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Hessami, Zohal & da Fonseca, Mariana Lopes, 2020. "Female political representation and substantive effects on policies: A literature review," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    10. Roberto Cellini & Tiziana Cuccia, 2024. "The gender bias in regional councilors’ reelection in Italy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 41(1), pages 47-83, April.
    11. Baraldi, Anna Laura & Fosco, Giovanni, 2024. "Clearing the Air: Women in Politics and Air Pollution," MPRA Paper 121377, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Savio, Giulia, 2024. "Beyond the party push: Gender differences in voters’ persuasion," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    13. Pushkar Maitra & Ananta Neelim, 2024. "Discrimination in Developing Countries," Monash Economics Working Papers 2024-03, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    14. Rios, Vicente & Barba, Izaskun & Gianmoena, Lisa & Pascual, Pedro, 2024. "Clearing the smog ceiling: The impact of women’s political empowerment on air quality in European regions," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    15. Baskaran, Thushyanthan & Hessami, Zohal, 2023. "Women in Political Bodies as Policymakers," IZA Discussion Papers 15983, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Bagues, Manuel & Campa, Pamela, 2021. "Can gender quotas in candidate lists empower women? Evidence from a regression discontinuity design," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    17. Bruce, Raphael & Cavgias, Alexsandros & Meloni, Luis & Remígio, Mário, 2022. "Under pressure: Women’s leadership during the COVID-19 crisis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    18. Baraldi, Anna Laura & Immordino, Giovanni & Stimolo, Marco, 2022. "Mafia wears out women in power: Evidence from italian municipalities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 213-236.
    19. Lippmann, Quentin, 2022. "Gender and lawmaking in times of quotas," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    20. Baraldi, Anna Laura & Ronza, Carla, 2019. "Organized crime and women in politics: Evidence from a quasi-experiment in southern Italy," MPRA Paper 98473, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • R50 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - General
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:74:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s00168-025-01377-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.