Jaakko Meriläinen, Céline Zipfel och Jay Eui Jung Lee

The Political Economics of Parity: Why Women’s Representation Stalls, and How to Move Beyond It.

Women’s participation in democratically elected bodies has increased substantially, but the proportion of women elected often levels off before reaching 50 per cent. Only a small number of countries have achieved gender-balanced representation, and this has usually involved some form of gender quota. In this research project, Meriläinen and Zipfel examine the causes and consequences of women’s political representation. They focus on three phases: the expansion and stagnation of women’s representation, and institutional measures aimed at increasing it.

 

The research project consists of three parts examining the mechanisms behind the observed pattern of stagnating representation. First, the researchers will study the factors that have historically driven women’s representation in elected bodies. Using historical data, they will investigate how technological advances have helped women enter politics.

 

Second, the researchers will analyse whether attitudes present a barrier to gender-balanced representation. They will explore the theory that political representation is a zero-sum game – in other words, that increased representation of women comes at the expense of men’s representation. The theory will be tested through surveys and interviews with voters and party leaderships in different contexts where women’s representation has plateaued before reaching 50 per cent.

 

The researchers will measure the prevalence of the view that political representation is a zero-sum game and test different interventions designed to influence people’s perceptions.

 

Third, the researchers will investigate what happens when gender-balanced representation is achieved through institutional measures. They will also study how gender quota legislation affects citizens’ trust and confidence in the political system and in politicians, and whether increased representation of women through quotas leads to greater political participation and meaningful influence.

 

Jaakko Meriläinen and Céline Zipfel are both based at the Stockholm School of Economics: Jaakko at the House of Governance and Public Policy and Céline at the Department of Economics. Jay Eui Jung Lee is based at the Department of Economics at Stockholm University.