[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ozl/bcecwp/wp1704.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Gender and climate change: Do female parliamentarians make a difference?

Author

Listed:
  • Astghik Mavisakalyan

    (Bankwest Curtin Economic Centre, Curtin University)

  • Yashar Tarverdi

    (Bankwest Curtin Economic Centre, Curtin University)

Abstract
This paper investigates whether female political representation in national parliaments influences climate change policy outcomes. Based on data from a large sample of countries, we demonstrate that female representation leads countries to adopt more stringent climate change policies. We exploit a combination of full and partial identification approaches to suggest that this relationship is likely to be causal. Moreover, we show that through its effect on the stringency of climate change policies, the representation of females in parliament results in lower carbon dioxide emissions. Female political representation may be an underutilized tool for addressing climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Astghik Mavisakalyan & Yashar Tarverdi, 2017. "Gender and climate change: Do female parliamentarians make a difference?," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1704, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:bcecwp:wp1704
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ftprepec.drivehq.com/ozl/bcecwp/downloads/WP1704.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Esther Duflo, 2012. "Women Empowerment and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1051-1079, December.
    2. 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.
    3. Andrei Shleifer & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Rafael La Porta, 2008. "The Economic Consequences of Legal Origins," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(2), pages 285-332, June.
    4. Fredriksson, Per G. & Wang, Le, 2011. "Sex and environmental policy in the U.S. House of Representatives," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(3), pages 228-230.
    5. Hicks, Daniel L. & Hicks, Joan Hamory & Maldonado, Beatriz, 2016. "Women as policy makers and donors: Female legislators and foreign aid," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 46-60.
    6. Svaleryd, Helena, 2009. "Women's representation and public spending," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 186-198, June.
    7. Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian & Francesco Trebbi, 2004. "Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions Over Geography and Integration in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 131-165, June.
    8. Kleibergen, Frank & Paap, Richard, 2006. "Generalized reduced rank tests using the singular value decomposition," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 97-126, July.
    9. 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.
    10. Victor Ginsburgh & Shlomo Weber, 2020. "The Economics of Language," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(2), pages 348-404, June.
    11. David Wheeler, 2011. "Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change: Implications for Adaptation Assistance - Working Paper 240," Working Papers 240, Center for Global Development.
    12. World Bank, 2018. "Doing Business 2018," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28608.
    13. Robin Grier & Beatriz Maldonado, 2015. "Electoral Experience, Institutional Quality and Economic Development in Latin America," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(2), pages 253-280, June.
    14. Swamy, Anand & Knack, Stephen & Lee, Young & Azfar, Omar, 2001. "Gender and corruption," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 25-55, February.
    15. Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2015. "Gender in Language and Gender in Employment," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 403-424, December.
    16. Clots-Figueras, Irma, 2011. "Women in politics," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 664-690.
    17. Murdoch, James C. & Sandler, Todd, 1997. "The voluntary provision of a pure public good: The case of reduced CFC emissions and the Montreal Protocol," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 331-349, February.
    18. Sébastien Marchand, 2012. "Legal Origin, Colonial Origins and Deforestation," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(2), pages 1653-1670.
    19. Timothy Besley & Stephen Coate, 1997. "An Economic Model of Representative Democracy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 85-114.
    20. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Tarverdi, Yashar, 2019. "Oil and women: A re-examination," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 191-200.
    21. Renée B. Adams & Patricia Funk, 2012. "Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Does Gender Matter?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(2), pages 219-235, February.
    22. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    23. Sonia Bhalotra & Irma Clots-Figueras, 2014. "Health and the Political Agency of Women," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 164-197, May.
    24. Tavares, Jose & Wacziarg, Romain, 2001. "How democracy affects growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1341-1378, August.
    25. Per G. Fredriksson & Eric Neumayer, 2016. "Corruption and Climate Change Policies: Do the Bad Old Days Matter?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 63(2), pages 451-469, February.
    26. Neumayer, Eric, 2003. "Are left-wing party strength and corporatism good for the environment? Evidence from panel analysis of air pollution in OECD countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 203-220, June.
    27. Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2014. "Women in cabinet and public health spending: evidence across countries," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 281-304, August.
    28. Raghabendra Chattopadhyay & Esther Duflo, 2004. "Women as Policy Makers: Evidence from a Randomized Policy Experiment in India," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(5), pages 1409-1443, September.
    29. Ross, Michael L., 2008. "Oil, Islam, and Women," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 102(1), pages 107-123, February.
    30. Fredriksson, Per G. & Neumayer, Eric, 2013. "Democracy and climate change policies: Is history important?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 11-19.
    31. Beck, Thorsten & Clarke, George & Groff, Alberto & Keefer, Philip & Walsh, Patrick, 2000. "New tools and new tests in comparative political economy - the database of political institutions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2283, The World Bank.
    32. World Bank, 2016. "World Development Indicators 2016," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 23969.
    33. Per Fredriksson & Jim Wollscheid, 2015. "Legal Origins and Climate Change Policies in Former Colonies," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(2), pages 309-327, October.
    34. Farzin, Y. Hossein & Bond, Craig A., 2006. "Democracy and environmental quality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 213-235, October.
    35. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(1), pages 83-116.
    36. Martin J. Osborne & Al Slivinski, 1996. "A Model of Political Competition with Citizen-Candidates," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(1), pages 65-96.
    37. Barro, Robert J. & Lee, Jong Wha, 2013. "A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 184-198.
    38. Enrico Botta & Tomasz Koźluk, 2014. "Measuring Environmental Policy Stringency in OECD Countries: A Composite Index Approach," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1177, OECD Publishing.
    39. Dinuk S. Jayasuriya & Paul J. Burke, 2013. "Female parliamentarians and economic growth: evidence from a large panel," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 304-307, February.
    40. Eric Neumayer, 2002. "Does Trade Openness Promote Multilateral Environmental Cooperation?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 815-832, June.
    41. Neumayer, Eric, 2004. "The environment, left-wing political orientation and ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3-4), pages 167-175, December.
    42. Sylwester, Kevin, 2000. "Income inequality, education expenditures, and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 379-398, December.
    43. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Tarverdi, Yashar & Weber, Clas, 2018. "Talking in the present, caring for the future: Language and environment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1370-1387.
    44. James B. Ang & Per G. Fredriksson, 2017. "Statehood Experience, Legal Traditions, And Climate Change Policies," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(3), pages 1511-1537, July.
    45. Siobhan Austen & Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2016. "Constitutions and the Political Agency of Women: A Cross-Country Study," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 183-210, January.
    46. Swenja Surminski & Andrew Williamson, 2012. "Policy indexes � what do they tell us and what are their applications? The case of climate policy and business planning in emerging markets," GRI Working Papers 88, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    47. Daniel L. Hicks & Joan Hamory Hicks & Beatriz Maldonado, 2015. "Are female politicians more responsive to international crises?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(6), pages 493-498, April.
    48. Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2011. "Immigration, Public Education Spending, and Private Schooling," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 78(2), pages 397-423, October.
    49. Nicholas Stern, 2008. "The Economics of Climate Change," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 1-37, May.
    50. Dollar, David & Fisman, Raymond & Gatti, Roberta, 2001. "Are women really the "fairer" sex? Corruption and women in government," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 423-429, December.
    51. Sébastien Marchand, 2012. "Legal Origin, Colonial Origins and Deforestation," Post-Print halshs-00912806, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Tarverdi, Yashar & Weber, Clas, 2018. "Talking in the present, caring for the future: Language and environment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1370-1387.
    2. Nabamita Dutta & Saibal Kar & Israt Jahan, 2024. "Environmental policy implementation, gender, and corruption," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 257-290, June.
    3. Hessami, Zohal & da Fonseca, Mariana Lopes, 2020. "Female political representation and substantive effects on policies: A literature review," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Tarverdi, Yashar, 2019. "Oil and women: A re-examination," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 191-200.
    5. Tadadjeu, Sosson & Njangang, Henri & Woldemichael, Andinet, 2023. "Are resource-rich countries less responsive to global warming? Oil wealth and climate change policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    6. Thushyanthan Baskaran & Sonia Bhalotra & Brian Min & Yogesh Uppal, 2024. "Women legislators and economic performance," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 151-214, June.
    7. Li-Ju Chen, 2021. "Female policymakers and educational expenditures: cross-country evidence," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 129-155, February.
    8. Bagues, Manuel & Campa, Pamela, 2021. "Can gender quotas in candidate lists empower women? Evidence from a regression discontinuity design," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    9. Ascensión Andina-Díaz & Paula Penalva & M. Socorro Puy, 2020. "Women’s Preferences for Social Spending: Theory and Evidence from Spanish Political Representatives," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 235(4), pages 119-151, December.
    10. Bhalotra, Sonia & Clots-Figueras, Irma & Cassan, Guilhem & Iyer, Lakshmi, 2014. "Religion, politician identity and development outcomes: Evidence from India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 4-17.
    11. Peveri, Julieta & Sangnier, Marc, 2023. "Gender differences in re-contesting decisions: New evidence from French municipal elections," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 574-594.
    12. Lahoti, Rahul & Sahoo, Soham, 2020. "Are educated leaders good for education? Evidence from India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 42-62.
    13. Jha, Chandan Kumar & Sarangi, Sudipta, 2018. "Women and corruption: What positions must they hold to make a difference?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 219-233.
    14. Francesco Burchi & Karan Singh, 2020. "Women’s Political Representation and Educational Attainments: A District-level Analysis in India," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 15(1), pages 7-33, April.
    15. Vu, Trung V., 2020. "Individualism and climate change policies: International evidence," MPRA Paper 98888, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Kuliomina, Jekaterina, 2021. "Do personal characteristics of councilors affect municipal budget allocation?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. Bhalotra, Sonia R. & Clarke, Damian & Gomes, Joseph & Venkataramani, Atheendar, 2018. "Maternal Mortality and Women's Political Participation," IZA Discussion Papers 11590, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Jain, Chandan & Kashyap, Shagun & Lahoti, Rahul & Sahoo, Soham, 2022. "Do Educated Leaders Affect Economic Development? Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 15278, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. 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.
    20. Al Mamun, Md & Boubaker, Sabri & Hossain, Md Zakir & Manita, Riadh, 2024. "Female political empowerment and green finance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    language; gender; political representation; climate change; environmental policy.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ozl:bcecwp:wp1704. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Caroline Stewart (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/becurau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.