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Hide and Seek: Female Parliamentarians and the Informal Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Zhike Lv

    (Xiangtan University)

  • Qi Pan

    (Xiangtan University)

  • Ting Xu

    (Xiangtan University)

Abstract

The substantial improvements in the share of women in political offices have had many economic and non-economic implications for the countries, and in turn have motivated researchers to study the various effects of female parliamentarians. In this paper, we aim to explore whether female political representation in national parliaments affects the size of the informal economy, utilizing a multinational panel data with 139 countries over the period from 2002 to 2015. After controlling for a variety of potential factors, we demonstrate that a higher share of women in parliament is associated with a lower level of informality. Moreover, further study shows that the informal economy is more affected by women’s political representation for the countries at the higher end of the conditional informality distribution. Overall, these findings complement existing research, deliver helpful implications for policymakers, and suggest some new lines for future study.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhike Lv & Qi Pan & Ting Xu, 2025. "Hide and Seek: Female Parliamentarians and the Informal Economy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 7507-7524, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:16:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s13132-024-02183-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-024-02183-6
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female parliamentarians; Informal economy; Regulation; Gender equality; Panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B54 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Feminist Economics
    • E26 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Informal Economy; Underground Economy
    • F5 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy

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