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Women's political representation and fertility: Evidence from gender quotas in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Pechar, Stefanie
  • Hartwig, Renate
  • Priebe, Jan

Abstract

We study how women's political representation affects fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Leveraging the staggered adoption of reserved-seat gender quotas across the region and a heterogeneity-robust difference-in-differences estimator, we find that quotas increased women's parliamentary representation by 13.3 percentage points and reduced the total fertility rate by 0.23 births per woman. The effect follows a policy-to-behavior pathway: resources shift toward family planning and reproductive health, contraceptive use increases, and unmet need declines; individual-level data further show delayed marriage and later first births. Women's political representation thus translates into greater policy emphasis on reproductive health, illustrating how legislative representation shapes policy outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Pechar, Stefanie & Hartwig, Renate & Priebe, Jan, 2026. "Women's political representation and fertility: Evidence from gender quotas in Sub-Saharan Africa," Ruhr Economic Papers 1223, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:343542
    DOI: 10.4419/96973408
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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