Work

Gender quotas and politicians’ education

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: What are the effects of gender quotas on the educational composition of municipality councils? Despite abundant research on the effects of gender quotas on political outcomes, it is yet unclear how they affect the educational attainment of elected male and female councilors. This paper provides novel evidence on this matter for Spain using data for 119,567 elected municipal councilors in the local elections of 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. We adopt a difference in discontinuities research design that compares outcome values before and after the quota implementation in municipalities below and above the quota population threshold. Our results show that the quota has not had a significant effect on the average years of schooling of male and female municipal councilors, on average. While ensuring greater female representation, gender quotas are thus found to be neutral with respect to politicians' competence.

Source: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107260

Authors: Francesca Passarelli, David Boto-García

Institution: Universidad de Oviedo

Language: English

Topic: Gender Politics and Representation

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Quality education, Gender equality, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,180