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When Women Win: Can Female Representation Decrease Gender-Based Violence?

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  • Frisancho, Verónica
  • Pappa, Evi
  • Santantonio, Chiara

Abstract

Every day, three women are murdered in the United States by a current or former partner. Yet policy action to prevent gender-based violence has been limited. Previous studies have highlighted the effect of female political representation on crimes against women in the developing world. This paper investigates whether the election of a female politician reduces the incidence of gender-based violence in the United States. Using a regression discontinuity design on mixed-gender races, we find that the election of a female House Representative leads to a short-lived decline in the prevalence of femicides in her electoral district. The drop in femicides is mainly driven by a deterrence effect that results from higher police responsiveness and effort in solving gender-related crimes.

Suggested Citation

  • Frisancho, Verónica & Pappa, Evi & Santantonio, Chiara, 2022. "When Women Win: Can Female Representation Decrease Gender-Based Violence?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12469, Inter-American Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:12469
    DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0004513
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    as
    1. Irma Clots-Figueras, 2012. "Are Female Leaders Good for Education? Evidence from India," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 212-244, January.
    2. Clots-Figueras, Irma, 2011. "Women in politics: Evidence from the Indian States," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 664-690, August.
    3. Lori Beaman & Raghabendra Chattopadhyay & Esther Duflo & Rohini Pande & Petia Topalova, 2009. "Powerful Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1497-1540.
    4. Quentin Lippmann, 2022. "Gender and lawmaking in times of quotas," Post-Print hal-04120482, HAL.
    5. Magdalena Delaporte & Francisco Pino, 2022. "Female Political Representation and Violence Against Women: Evidence from Brazil," Working Papers wp534, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    6. Lippmann, Quentin, 2022. "Gender and lawmaking in times of quotas," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    7. Melissa Hidrobo & Amber Peterman & Lori Heise, 2016. "The Effect of Cash, Vouchers, and Food Transfers on Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Northern Ecuador," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(3), pages 284-303, July.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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