IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/jau/wpaper/2019-05.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The impact women's leadership in local Governments: The case of Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll

    (Department of Finance and Accounting, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain)

  • Mariya Ivanova-Toneva

    (Department of Finance and Accounting, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain)

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to analyse whether the gender of the mayor and the municipal council members affects compliance with the principles of budgetary stability and financial sustainability contained in Organic Law 2/2012 on Budgetary Stability and Financial sustainability. We find that in Spanish local governments during the period 2013–2016, the leadership of women mayors contributes to improving the financial situation of the local government. In particular, the presence of women mayors governing with a high proportion of female councillors increases the probability of compliance with regulations on budgetary stability, financial sustainability and the legal debt limit. Thus, the Law for Effective Equality of Women and Men favours compliance with the Law on Budgetary Stability and Financial Sustainability. In addition, the results show that in pre electoral periods, women mayors are less likely to employ strategies designed to enhance their re election chances.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll & Mariya Ivanova-Toneva, 2019. "The impact women's leadership in local Governments: The case of Spain," Working Papers 2019/05, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
  • Handle: RePEc:jau:wpaper:2019/05
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.doctreballeco.uji.es/wpficheros/Balaguer_Ivanova_05_2019.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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).
    2. Hulten, Charles R & Peterson, George E, 1984. "The Public Capital Stock: Needs, Trends, and Performance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(2), pages 166-173, May.
    3. Li-Ju Chen, 2010. "Do Gender Quotas Influence Women’s Representation and Policies?," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 7(1), pages 13-60, June.
    4. John Ashworth & Benny Geys & Bruno Heyndels, 2005. "Government Weakness and Local Public Debt Development in Flemish Municipalities," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 12(4), pages 395-422, August.
    5. Roubini, Nouriel & Sachs, Jeffrey D., 1989. "Political and economic determinants of budget deficits in the industrial democracies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 903-933, May.
    6. Brender, Adi, 2003. "The effect of fiscal performance on local government election results in Israel: 1989-1998," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(9-10), pages 2187-2205, September.
    7. Akhmed Akhmedov & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2004. "Opportunistic Political Cycles: Test in a Young Democracy Setting," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1301-1338.
    8. Green, Colin P. & Homroy, Swarnodeep, 2018. "Female directors, board committees and firm performance," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 19-38.
    9. Ferreira, Fernando & Gyourko, Joseph, 2014. "Does gender matter for political leadership? The case of U.S. mayors," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 24-39.
    10. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    11. Jorge OLMO & Isabel BRUSCA & Margarita LABRADOR, 2018. "La Morosidad En El Sector Local Español: Factores De Riesgo Y Prevención," Revista Galega de Economía, University of Santiago de Compostela. Faculty of Economics and Business., vol. 27(1), pages 17-30.
    12. Benny Geys & Federico Revelli, 2011. "Economic and Political Foundations of Local Tax Structures: An Empirical Investigation of the Tax Mix of Flemish Municipalities," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(3), pages 410-427, June.
    13. Dickson, Vaughan & Yu, Weiqiu, 1997. "Spending by Canadian Provincial Governments: An Empirical Analysis," Public Finance = Finances publiques, , vol. 52(2), pages 145-160.
    14. Fermín Cabasés & Pedro Pascual & Jaime Vallés, 2007. "The effectiveness of institutional borrowing restrictions: Empirical evidence from Spanish municipalities," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 293-313, June.
    15. Seitz, Helmut, 2000. "Fiscal Policy, Deficits and Politics of Subnational Governments: The Case of the German Laender," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 102(3-4), pages 183-218, March.
    16. Alberto Alesina & Reza Baqir & William Easterly, 1999. "Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(4), pages 1243-1284.
    17. Drazen, Allan & Eslava, Marcela, 2010. "Electoral manipulation via voter-friendly spending: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 39-52, May.
    18. Raghabendra Chattopadhyay & Esther Duflo, 2004. "Women as Policy Makers: Evidence from a Randomized Policy Experiment in India," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(5), pages 1409-1443, September.
    19. Balaguer-Coll, María Teresa & Brun-Martos, María Isabel, 2013. "El efecto del gasto público sobre las posibilidades de reelección de los gobiernos locales," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 74-80.
    20. Rogoff, Kenneth, 1990. "Equilibrium Political Budget Cycles," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(1), pages 21-36, March.
    21. Balaguer-Coll, Maria Teresa & Brun-Martos, María Isabel & Forte, Anabel & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2015. "Local governments' re-election and its determinants: New evidence based on a Bayesian approach," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 94-108.
    22. Royd. Adams, 1977. "Individual Preferences as Supply Determinants in the Municipal and Federal Bond Markets," Public Finance Review, , vol. 5(2), pages 175-202, April.
    23. 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.
    24. Schultz, Christian & Sjostrom, Tomas, 2001. "Local public goods, debt and migration," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 313-337, May.
    25. Bernardino Benito & Cristina Vicente & Francisco Bastida, 2015. "The Impact of the Housing Bubble on the Growth of Municipal Debt: Evidence from Spain," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(6), pages 997-1016, November.
    26. Andr鳠Navarro-Galera & Salvador Rayo-Cant & Juan Lara-Rubio & Dionisio Buend𫑃arrillo, 2015. "Loan price modelling for local governments using risk premium analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(58), pages 6257-6276, December.
    27. Christopher F Baum, 2006. "An Introduction to Modern Econometrics using Stata," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, number imeus, March.
    28. Kiewiet, D Roderick & Szakaly, Kristin, 1996. "Constitutional Limitations on Borrowing: An Analysis of State Bonded Indebtedness," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 62-97, April.
    29. Cassette, Aurélie & Farvaque, Etienne, 2014. "Are elections debt brakes? Evidence from French municipalities," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 314-316.
    30. Laura Crespo & Pedro Mira, 2014. "Caregiving to Elderly Parents and Employment Status of European Mature Women," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(4), pages 693-709, October.
    31. Blais, Andre & Nadeau, Richard, 1992. "The Electoral Budget Cycle," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 389-403, December.
    32. Dimi Jottier & John Ashworth & Bruno Heyndels, 2012. "Understanding Voters' Preferences: How the Electorate's Complexity Affects Prediction Accuracy and Wishful Thinking among Politicians with Respect to Election Outcomes," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(3), pages 340-370, August.
    33. Luca Repetto, 2018. "Political Budget Cycles with Informed Voters: Evidence from Italy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(616), pages 3320-3353, December.
    34. Michael A. Ellis & D. Eric Schansberg, 1999. "The Determinants of State Government Debt Financing," Public Finance Review, , vol. 27(6), pages 571-587, November.
    35. Pérez López, Gemma & Plata Díaz, Ana María & Zafra Gómez, José L. & López Hernández, Antonio M., 2013. "Deuda viva municipal en un contexto de crisis económica: análisis de los factores determinantes y de las formas de gestión," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 83-93.
    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. Patrizia Ordine & Giuseppe Rose & Pasquale Giacobbe, 2023. "The effect of female representation on political budget cycle and public expenditure: Evidence from Italian municipalities," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 97-145, March.
    2. García, Israel & Hayo, Bernd, 2021. "Political budget cycles revisited: Testing the signalling process," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Jan Kluge & Gunther Markwardt & Christian Thater, 2017. "Self-Preserving Leviathans Evidence from Local-Level Data," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(4), pages 594-621, November.
    4. Roberto Cabaleiro‐Casal & Enrique Buch‐Gómez, 2021. "Female politicians in municipal councils and fiscal performance," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 289-314, July.
    5. repec:cuf:journl:y:2017:v:18:i:1:moreno-enguix is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Chortareas, Georgios & Logothetis, Vasileios & Papandreou, Andreas A., 2016. "Political budget cycles and reelection prospects in Greece's municipalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    7. Maria del Rocio Moreno-Enguix & Ester Gras-Gil & Joaquin Hernandez-Fernandez, 2017. "An Explanation of Management of Local Governments in Spain Based on the Structure of the Internal Control System," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 18(2), pages 393-410, November.
    8. 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).
    9. Burret, Heiko T. & Feld, Lars P., 2018. "(Un-)intended effects of fiscal rules," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 166-191.
    10. Maria Teresa Balaguer-Coll & María Isabel Brun-Martos & Anabel Forte & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2014. "Determinants of local governments'­ reelection: New evidence based on a Bayesian approach," Working Papers 2014/06, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    11. Silva-Escobar, Daniel, 2022. "Conducta electoral oportunista y determinantes económicos de la reelección de alcaldes/as en Chile," Documentos de Trabajo 10, Estudios Nueva Economía.
    12. Susana Peralta & João Pereira dos Santos, 2020. "Who seeks reelection: local fiscal restraints and political selection," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 105-134, July.
    13. Bernardino Benito & Francisco Bastida & Cristina Vicente, 2013. "Municipal elections and cultural expenditure," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 37(1), pages 3-32, February.
    14. Ma. Guillamón & Francisco Bastida & Bernardino Benito, 2013. "The electoral budget cycle on municipal police expenditure," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 447-469, December.
    15. Bernardino Benito & Francisco Bastida & Cristina Vicente, 2013. "Creating Room for Manoeuvre: a Strategy to Generate Political Budget Cycles under Fiscal Rules," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(4), pages 467-496, November.
    16. Bernardino Benito & María-Dolores Guillamón & Ana-María Ríos, 2021. "Political Budget Cycles in Public Revenues: Evidence From Fines," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    17. Jan Kluge & Gunther Markwardt & Christian Thater, 2015. "Self-preserving Leviathans - Evidence from Regional-level Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 5177, CESifo.
    18. Israel Garcia & Bernd Hayo, 2022. "The Influence of Politicians’ Sex on Political Budget Cycles: An Empirical Analysis of Spanish Municipalities," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202223, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    19. Aidt, Toke S. & Mooney, Graham, 2014. "Voting suffrage and the political budget cycle: Evidence from the London Metropolitan Boroughs 1902–1937," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 53-71.
    20. Arnt Hopland, 2014. "Voter information and electoral outcomes: the Norwegian list of shame," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 233-255, October.
    21. Balaguer-Coll, Maria Teresa & Brun-Martos, María Isabel & Forte, Anabel & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2015. "Local governments' re-election and its determinants: New evidence based on a Bayesian approach," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 94-108.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    women mayors; gender quotas; budgetary stability; financial sustainability; law; municipalities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • H74 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Borrowing
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:jau:wpaper:2019/05. 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: María Aurora Garcia Gallego (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ueujies.html .

    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.