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Child Penalties in Politics

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  • Jon H. Fiva
  • Max-Emil M. King

Abstract

Women tend to experience substantial declines in their labor income after their first child is born, while men do not. Do such “child penalties” also exist in the political arena? Using extensive administrative data from Norway and an event-study methodology, we find that women drop out of local politics to a larger extent than men after their first child is born. Parenthood also seems to have a differential long-term effect on women and men's political careers, which may explain why women, especially women with children, are underrepresented at higher levels of the political hierarchy.

Suggested Citation

  • Jon H. Fiva & Max-Emil M. King, 2022. "Child Penalties in Politics," CESifo Working Paper Series 9611, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9611
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    Cited by:

    1. Sigurd S. Arntzen & Jon H. Fiva & Rune J. Sørensen, 2024. "Vetting for Virtue: Democracy’s Challenge in Excluding Criminals from Office," CESifo Working Paper Series 11412, CESifo.
    2. 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

    gender gap; child penalties; political selection;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • 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

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