Gender quotas in municipal executives: reallocating public spending in Italy

This study investigates how increased female representation in executive positions within local governments affects municipal expenditures. We leverage a 2014 reform in Italy that mandated 40% gender quotas in the executive councils of municipalities with more than 3,000 residents. To isolate the impact of gender quotas from other policies active at the same population cutoff, we employ a difference-in-discontinuities approach. We document that the policy effectively increases female representation in local governments, and it brings younger, less experienced female politicians into the executive councils. We find that increased female representation shifts resources away from culture and toward education, with spending shares rising by 23% for preschools and 10% for schools, while culture spending drops by 37%. This indicates that including women in executive roles can influence the allocation of municipal resources, even if it does not alter total spending levels.