Electing women does not reduce corruption: Evidence from Brazil, By Julieta Peveri & Clémence Tricaud

As women gain political ground around the world, there is hope that the election of more women might also mean cleaner government. But is this the case? This column by Julieta Peveri (Maitresse de conférences, CES, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) and Clémence Tricaud (UCLA Anderson School of Management) in VoxEU examines thousands of close mixed-gender elections in Brazil across two decades and finds that electing a woman mayor neither increases nor reduces corruption. Instead, incumbents are consistently more corrupt across various metrics. Women continue to face substantial barriers on the path to office and dismantling these remains a fundamental democratic objective, but on the grounds of equity in representation, not because it will reduce corruption.

For more information: https://cepr.org/publications/dp21568