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Gender preference gaps and voting for redistribution

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  • Eva Ranehill
  • Roberto A. Weber
Abstract
There is substantial evidence that women tend to support different policies and political candidates than men. Many studies also document gender differences in a variety of important preference dimensions, such as risk-taking, competition and pro-sociality. However, the degree to which differential voting by men and women is related to these gaps in more basic preferences requires an improved understanding. We conduct an experiment in which individuals in small laboratory “societies” repeatedly vote for redistribution policies and engage in production. We find that women vote for more egalitarian redistribution and that this difference persists with experience and in environments with varying degrees of risk. This gender voting gap is accounted for partly by both gender gaps in preferences and by expectations regarding economic circumstances. However, including both these controls in a regression analysis indicates that the latter is the primary driving force. We also observe policy differences between male- and female-controlled groups, though these are substantially smaller than the mean individual differences - a natural consequence of the aggregation of individual preferences into collective outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva Ranehill & Roberto A. Weber, 2017. "Gender preference gaps and voting for redistribution," ECON - Working Papers 271, Department of Economics - University of Zurich, revised Dec 2021.
    • Handle: RePEc:zur:econwp:271
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    Cited by:

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    2. 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).
    3. Piasenti, Stefano & Valente, Marica & Van Veldhuizen, Roel & Pfeifer, Gregor, 2023. "Does Unfairness Hurt Women? The Effects of Losing Unfair Competitions," Working Papers 2023:7, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    4. Monica Bozzano & Simona Scabrosetti, 2024. "Preferences for Redistribution: Two Decades of Gender Gaps and Generational Differences in Europe," Working papers 113, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    5. Buser, Thomas & Grimalda, Gianluca & Putterman, Louis & van der Weele, Joël, 2020. "Overconfidence and gender gaps in redistributive preferences: Cross-Country experimental evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 267-286.
    6. Tagat, Anirudh, 2020. "Female matters: Impact of a workfare program on intra-household female decision-making in rural India," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    7. Thilo N. H. Albers & Felix Kersting & Fabian Kosse, 2022. "Income Misperception and Populism," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1177, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    8. Thilo N. H. Albers & Felix Kersting & Fabian Kosse, 2022. "Income Misperception and Populism," CESifo Working Paper Series 10059, CESifo.
    9. 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).
    10. Gabriela DRÄ‚GAN & Cezar TECLEAN, 2023. "Impact Of The Feminization Of Political Management On The Regulatory Framework: Evidence From The European Union," Management Research and Practice, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 15(3), pages 5-21, September.
    11. Nabamita Dutta & Saibal Kar & Israt Jahan, 2024. "Environmental policy implementation, gender, and corruption," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 257-290, June.
    12. Bozzano, Monica & Profeta, Paola & Puglisi, Riccardo & Scabrosetti, Simona, 2024. "Women’s voice on redistribution: From gender equality to equalizing taxation," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Albers, Thilo Nils Hendrik & Kersting, Felix & Kosse, Fabian, 2022. "Income Misperception and Populism," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 344, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    14. Albers, Thilo N. H. & Kersting, Felix & Kosse, Fabian, 2022. "Income Misperception and Populism," IZA Discussion Papers 15673, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender differences; risk; altruism; redistributive preferences; experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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