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Why Are Women Less Democratic Than Men? Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Countries

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  • García-Peñalosa, Cecilia
  • Konte, Maty

Abstract

A substantial literature has examined the determinants of support for democracy and although existing work has found a gender gap in democratic attitudes, there have been no attempts to explain it. In this paper we try to understand why females are less supportive of democracy than males in a number of countries. Using data for 20 Sub-Saharan African countries, we test whether the gap is due to individual differences previously ignored or to country-wide characteristics. We find that controlling for individual characteristics does not offset the gender gap, but our results indicate that the gap is eroded by high levels of human development and political rights.

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  • García-Peñalosa, Cecilia & Konte, Maty, 2014. "Why Are Women Less Democratic Than Men? Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 104-119.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:59:y:2014:i:c:p:104-119
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.01.005
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    1. Support for democracy by gender (20 S-S African countries)
      by UDADISI in UDADISI on 2013-04-15 14:03:00

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    3. Konte, M., 2014. "Gender difference in support for democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do social institutions matter?," MERIT Working Papers 009, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    4. Maty Konte & Stephan Klasen, 2016. "Gender difference in support for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do social institutions matter?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 55-86, April.
    5. Boris Branisa & Carolina Cardona, 2015. "Social Institutions and Gender Inequality in Fragile States: Are they relevant for the Post-MDG Debate?," Development Research Working Paper Series 06/2015, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.
    6. Williams, Kevin, 2017. "Do remittances improve political institutions? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 65-75.
    7. Djemaï, Elodie & Kevane, Michael, 2023. "Effects of education on political engagement in rural Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    8. Konte, Maty & Osei Kwadwo, Victor & Zinyemba, Tatenda, 2019. "Women's political and reproductive health empowerment in Africa: A literature review," MERIT Working Papers 2019-044, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    support for democracy; gender gap; institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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