Principal investigator: Angelo Cruz do Nascimento Varella
Article title: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WOMAN WINS AN ELECTION? EVIDENCE FROM CLOSE RACES IN BRAZIL
Article authors: Fernanda Brollo and Ugo Troiano
Location of the intervention: Brazil
Sample size: 723 municipal races for mayors
Main theme: Genre
Type of Intervention: Statistical comparison of corruption levels among male and female mayors.
Main Variable of Interest: Levels of corruption
Evaluation method: Experimental Evaluation (RCT)
Policy Problem
Political corruption is a problem of enormous proportions in Brazil and worldwide. Its occurrence generates inefficiencies in the allocation of public resources and causes socioeconomic problems in all layers of society. In order to combat it, researchers and professionals use technical knowledge and empirical research as powerful tools that underpin public policy decisions aimed at mitigating this significant obstacle.
This text discusses one of these internationally recognized empirical studies that seeks to evaluate the difference between men and women in the practices of political corruption. The analysis considers various aspects of this highly complex problem, attempting to compare corrupt acts between male and female mayors in Brazilian municipalities, as well as to define which characteristics are more common to different genders.
Assessment Context
In general, empirical studies indicate that political corruption is lower when women are in power, and that these representatives tend to make decisions more focused on increasing social welfare. To verify these claims, researchers used data from a significant Brazilian anti-corruption initiative: random municipal public audits. Implemented in 2003, the Public Lottery Audit Program of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) analyzed the public accounts of Brazilian municipalities using a lottery system, with the intention of evaluating public accounts and investigating the existence of corrupt acts or improper allocation of resources in municipal administrations.
In addition to analyzing public accounts in municipalities, the research also took into account other factors typically associated with political corruption, comparing the results between men and women in similar situations. Factors such as the use of appointed positions, campaign contributions, probability of reelection, and allocation of public funds were also considered, building a robust analysis of gender differences in the political context of Brazilian municipalities.
Policy Details
To compare gender differences in municipal leadership, the authors used several integrated databases in a statistical test called regression discontinuity. The aim is to control for the complex Brazilian political landscape in order to provide a fair comparison.
The analyses encompass two mayoral elections in municipalities with fewer than 200 inhabitants, covering the terms from 2001 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2008. All information regarding the elections, as well as information related to the candidates, comes from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). Data on corruption were collected from the first 33 reports of the CGU program, which characterizes four types of political corruption in municipal government:
- Illegal purchases
- Fraud
- Overbilling
- Misappropriation of funds
The reports cover the period from May 2003 to July 2010. Additional data for the same period are collected from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the National Treasury, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health.
Assessment Method
Based on the collected data, the researchers selected electoral races in which a man competed against a woman, correlating these contests with supplementary data. Of the total 5.567 municipalities, only 723 elections between 2000 and 2004 were considered for the analysis, representing 7% of the total. It is worth noting that, of these selected municipalities, only 161 were randomly selected for audits during the analyzed period, which characterizes the sample as containing information on political corruption. Other supplementary information includes:
– Data on the four types of corrupt acts;
– Socioeconomic characteristics of the municipalities;
– Individual characteristics of the elected candidates;
– Conditions and number of public employees in city halls;
Campaign contributions;
– Whether they are running for re-election or have run before;
Information about campaign contributions;
– Data on birth rates in municipalities;
Educational data in municipalities.
Main results
The observed results corroborate the empirical findings of other authors, indicating that the elected female candidates were involved in fewer acts of corruption and dedicated more resources to improving social welfare. It is worth noting that, of the electoral races analyzed, 407 male mayors and 316 female mayors were elected, representing a percentage of 56% men versus 44% women.
Regarding the results of political corruption, the probability of elected female candidates engaging in any of the corrupt acts listed in the CGU reports is 29 to 35 percentage points lower than that of male candidates. Concerning campaign contributions, female mayors attract between 30% and 55% less private funding (which was legal in the elections analyzed) than male candidates. The authors highlight the fact that there is a consensus in the literature that private contributions are frequently associated with favoring contributing companies, which corroborates the hypothesis that women participate in a considerably smaller proportion of the acts of corruption commonly practiced in Brazilian politics. There are also other possible explanations, such as sexism on the part of donors or greater political articulation skills on the part of men.
Another factor associated with corrupt practices relates to temporary positions, which are used by corrupt individuals to exchange political favors. The female mayors analyzed hired approximately 64 fewer individuals through appointed positions than male mayors, representing 52% of the total hires made by men. In election years, this difference increases to 80 positions. Additionally, despite having the same probability of running for reelection, the probability of being reelected is 20 percentage points lower than that of male mayors.
Regarding the other information analyzed, female mayors tend to attract, on average, 60% more revenue from state and federal agencies for investments in their municipalities. Furthermore, municipalities led by women show better rates in prenatal care, normal deliveries, and school infrastructure, which also corroborates other empirical studies that demonstrate that female leaders provide better public goods and increase social well-being.
Lessons in Public Policy
There is extensive discussion in the academic literature regarding gender differences in politics. In this text, as in other research, female leaders show lower levels of political corruption, as well as evidence that counteracts the perpetuation of corrupt acts, such as private donations to electoral campaigns and the excessive hiring of temporary positions, especially in election years. Conversely, the probability of a female mayor being elected is lower compared to male mayors, even under similar conditions, indicating that such improper acts may affect municipal campaigns in Brazil.
There is much to be discussed regarding this topic, so it is possible that Brazilian social characteristics represent influencing factors that explain these results. It should be noted, however, that researchers are conducting parallel tests in order to mitigate these possibilities, thus strengthening the results presented in this text. Given the characteristics necessary for representativeness, women's candidacies for positions of public power should be encouraged, and the monitoring of results should be constant, in order to contribute to the debate on the topic and enable the best possible conditions for national politics.
Reference
BROLLO, Fernanda; TROIANO, Ugo. What happens when a woman wins an election? Evidence from close races in Brazil. Journal of Development Economics, vol. 122, p. 28-45, 2016.
