scholarly journals Electoral Incentives, Critical Actors, and the Substantive Representation of Women in Parliament

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Daniel Höhmann
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Incentive Structure ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Female Legislators ◽  
Women In Parliament

When and how does the susbstantive representation of women in parliament occur? This dissertation makes two main contributions in this regard. First, it analyzes when female MPs represent women’s interests in parliament. Regarding the ‘when’ and ‘why’ of women’s substantive representation, this dissertation investigates how the institutional environment affects the parliamentary behavior of female MPs and their opportunities to focus on the representation of women’s interests. In particular, it explores the effect of the electoral system and asks whether the electoral incentive structure influences whether and to what extent female legislators represent women-specific issues more frequently than their male colleagues do. Second, this dissertation broadens our understanding of the potential actors in women’s substantive representation and explicitly analyzes whether, when and why male MPs represent women’s interests in parliament. It examines whether the presence of women in parliament has an effect on male MPs’ behavior and their decision to actively represent women’s interests. Moreover, it analyzes whether the electoral vulnerability of male MPs has an effect on their willingness to pay attention to women’s concerns.

When Do Female MPs Represent Women’s Interests? Electoral Systems and the Legislative Behavior of Women

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 834-847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Höhmann
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Legislative Behavior ◽  
Incentive Structure ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Female Legislators ◽  
German Bundestag ◽  
Mixed Electoral System

Research on women’s political representation has repeatedly shown that female legislators represent women’s interest more strongly than their male colleagues. However, a growing body of literature shows that the parliamentary behavior of female members of parliament (MPs) and the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation of women is affected by a number of institutional variables. This paper contributes to this debate by analyzing the effect of the electoral incentive structure on the substantive representation of women. Drawing on the Competing Principals Theory, it is expected that female legislators more frequently act on behalf of women if their re-election does not depend on the representation of local interests in electoral districts. The empirical analysis uses the German mixed electoral system and analyzes the representation of women’s issues in oral and written parliamentary questions tabled in the German Bundestag between 2005 and 2013. The results of a hurdle regression model show that female MPs are more likely to concentrate on the representation of women’s interests if their re-election is secured and if they do not have to fight for additional local votes from their district.

scholarly journals Strengthening Substantive Representation of Women through the Engagement Model of the Women’s Movement with the DPR and DPRD in Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Atnike Nova Sigiro
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Women's Organizations ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Ideal Composition ◽  
Women In Parliament ◽  
Central Level ◽  
Women’S Organizations

Although it has not yet reached an ideal composition, the adoption of a 30% quota of women in elections in Indonesia has increased the number of women in parliament, both at the central level (House of Representative/DPR) and at the regional level (Regional House of Representatives/DPRD). However, the issue of women’s representation in parliament is not only a matter of representation based on sex, but also of substantive representation, where women’s political agenda can be voiced. One of the concepts developed by feminist thinking is the concept of critical actors. This article seeks to explain how women’s organizations and parliamentarians are critical actors that encourage women’s involvement with parliament. This article explains how the involvement between women’s organizations and parliament can strengthen the substantive representation of women in both the DPR and the DPRD. The article is developed based on studies on engagement models of MAMPU’s partners with the DPR and DPRD.

Analysing Women's Substantive Representation: From Critical Mass to Critical Actors

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Childs ◽  
Mona Lena Krook
Keyword(s):  
Critical Mass ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
Female Legislators ◽  
Traditional Approaches

AbstractThis article makes a case for rethinking traditional approaches to the study of legislative behaviour on behalf of women by asking (1) not when women make a difference, but how the substantive representation of women occurs; and (2) not what ‘women’ do, but what specific actors do. The first shift aims to explore the contexts, identities and attitudes that motivate and inform substantive representation. The second seeks to move beyond a focus on female legislators to identify the ‘critical actors’, male and female, who may attempt to represent women as a group. In so doing, this framework calls attention to how structure and agency interact in the substantive representation of women.

scholarly journals Women’s Representation in the Post-Soviet Space: Latvia and Lithuania

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avery Beam
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Mixed System ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Women In Parliament ◽  
Sheer Number

Using a most-similar case design to compare Latvia and Lithuania, this study examines the role electoral systems play in affecting greater representation of women in post-Soviet democracies. After Latvia’s most recent election, Latvia demonstrated a much higher percentage of women in its parliament (31%) than Lithuania (21%). Interestingly, in spite of having higher descriptive representation, Latvia has no quotas or women's organizations/caucuses while Lithuania implements voluntary quotas and has a prevalent women's caucus. This study advances an institutional argument, hypothesizing that the Latvian parliament's higher percentage of women can be attributed to its proportional representation electoral system. Lithuania has a mixed system that has favored a majoritarian pole, which in turn, has adversely affected women’s electoral success.  In many ways, women’s substantive representation in Latvia and Lithuania is only marginally different. However, in regard to the sheer number of women in parliament, the difference between Lithuania and Latvia proves relatively marked. The Latvian and Lithuanian cases demonstrate that proportional representation electoral systems are more favorable to women candidates than mixed systems, even in the absence of quotas and a women’s movement and particularly in the context of post-Soviet democracies

Critical Mass Theory and Women's Political Representation

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 725-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Childs Sarah ◽  
Lena Krook Mona
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Gender And Politics ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Subsequent Research ◽  
Female Legislators ◽  
The Relationship

In studies of women's legislative behaviour, the concept of critical mass is widely used and, more recently, criticised as a tool for understanding the relationship between the percentage of female legislators and the passage of legislation beneficial to women as a group. In this research note, we revisit classic contributions by Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Drude Dahlerup and outline and discuss their assumptions regarding anticipated connections between numbers and outcomes. We find that later gender and politics scholars have often misconstrued their work, with crucial implications for subsequent research on relations between the descriptive and substantive representation of women. We argue that clarifying the theoretical origins of the critical mass concept is crucial for forging a more coherent and cumulative research agenda on women's political representation.

Female Representation in Colombia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Pachón ◽  
Santiago E. Lacouture
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Electoral Democracy ◽  
Almost All

Mónica Pachón and Santiago E. Lacouture examine the case of Colombia and show that women’s representation has been low and remains low in most arenas of representation and across national and subnational levels of government. The authors identify institutions and the highly personalized Colombian political context as the primary reasons for this. Despite the fact that Colombia was an electoral democracy through almost all of the twentieth century, it was one of the last countries in the region to grant women political rights. Still, even given women’s small numbers, they do bring women’s issues to the political arena. Pachón and Lacoutre show that women are more likely to sponsor bills on women-focused topics, which may ultimately lead to greater substantive representation of women in Colombia.

Negotiating Political Power at ‘Critical Junctures’: Women and Constitution Drafting in South Africa and India

2021 ◽  
pp. 002190962110258
Author(s):  
Nila Mohanan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Gain Access

From a feminist institutionalist perspective, this article engages in a comparative analysis of South Africa, one of the only post-transition democracies where women organized as a distinct interest group representing gender interests were able to negotiate and gain access to political power, and India, where women’s participation was predominantly as ‘nationalist women’. It argues that constitution drafting is a decisive critical juncture when descriptive representation can be translated very effectively into the substantive representation of women as equal citizens, provided women qua women and as gender-conscious agents are able to intervene to promote the cause of their effective political participation.

scholarly journals Electoral Incentives and the Allocation of Public Funds

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederico Finan ◽  
Maurizio Mazzocco
Keyword(s):  
Electoral System ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Term Limit ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Projects ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Politicians allocate public resources in ways that maximize political gains, and potentially at the cost of lower welfare. In this paper, we quantify these welfare costs in the context of Brazil’s federal legislature, which grants its members a budget to fund public projects within their states. Using data from the state of Roraima, we estimate a model of politicians’ allocation decisions and find that 26.8% of the public funds allocated by legislators are distorted relative to a social planner’s allocation. We then use the model to simulate three potential policy reforms to the electoral system: the adoption of approval voting, imposing a one-term limit, and redistricting. We find that a one-term limit and redistricting are both effective at reducing distortions. The one-term limit policy, however, increases corruption, which makes it a welfare-reducing policy.

scholarly journals Do Women Need Women Representatives?

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosie Campbell ◽  
Sarah Childs ◽  
Joni Lovenduski
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Election Study ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Mass Attitudes ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Mass Level

This article analyses the relationship between the representatives and the represented by comparing elite and mass attitudes to gender equality and women’s representation in Britain. In so doing, the authors take up arguments in the recent theoretical literature on representation that question the value of empirical research of Pitkin’s distinction between substantive and descriptive representation. They argue that if men and women have different attitudes at the mass level, which are reproduced amongst political elites, then the numerical under-representation of women may have negative implications for women’s substantive representation. The analysis is conducted on the British Election Study (BES) and the British Representation Study (BRS) series.

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