Women in political power and school closure during COVID times

Summary This study explores the relationship between women’s representation in political power and school closures during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Using a cross-country dataset in Europe, we document a striking negative relationship between the share of female members in national governm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Economic policy 2024-10, Vol.39 (120), p.765-810
Main Authors: Danzer, Natalia, Garcia-Torres, Sebastian, Steinhardt, Max Friedrich, Stella, Luca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Central government
Children
Closure
COVID-19
Family school relationship
Females
Pandemics
Political power
Schools
Women and politics
Working mothers
Young mothers
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Summary:Summary This study explores the relationship between women’s representation in political power and school closures during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Using a cross-country dataset in Europe, we document a striking negative relationship between the share of female members in national governments and school closures. We show that a one-standard deviation increase in female members of national governments is associated with a significant reduction in the likelihood of school lockdowns by 24% relative to the average share of school closures. This result is robust to an extensive set of sensitivity checks. We attribute this pattern to a higher awareness of female politicians about the potential costs that school closures imply for families, in particular working mothers with young children.
ISSN:0266-4658
1468-0327
DOI:10.1093/epolic/eiae033