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The Gender Recontest Gap in Elections

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  • Baskaran, Thushyanthan

    (Ruhr University Bochum)

  • Hessami, Zohal

    (Ruhr University Bochum)

Abstract

This paper documents an important but mostly overlooked reason for female underrepresentation in politics: gender gaps in the recontest likelihood of candidates. Using hand-collected data on 116,185 candidates in four consecutive local council elections (2001-2016) in a German state, we provide evidence for a gender recontest gap among both incumbent and non-incumbent candidates. Female candidates are 4 to 5 percentage points less likely than male candidates to run again conditional on previous candidacy. Studying mechanisms, we find that women are likely held back by incompatibilities between family obligations and political duties as well as a culture of male dominance in local politics.

Suggested Citation

  • Baskaran, Thushyanthan & Hessami, Zohal, 2021. "The Gender Recontest Gap in Elections," IZA Discussion Papers 14981, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14981
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    Cited by:

    1. Lippmann, Quentin, 2023. "Persistence of incumbents and female access to political positions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 327-349.
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    3. Shouzhi Xia, 2023. "Female members of parliament, right-wing parties, and the inclusiveness of immigration policy: evidence from 26 European countries," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 56(4), pages 689-707, December.
    4. Nzabonimpa, Mélyne, 2023. "Gender differences in politician persistence and incumbency advantage," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    local councils; persistence; political selection; gender; candidacy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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