17/03/2026 -12:45 - Doyen 22

Angel Pandit

(UCLouvain, LIDAM, IRES)

will give a presentation on 

Female Political Leaders and Women’s Labor Supply: Evidence from Close Elections in India

Abstract

 I examine whether female political representation affects women’s economic behavior in India. I combine a large nationally representative household panel tracking individual employment outcomes from 2016 to 2024 with detailed state assembly election results. To identify causal effects, I exploit close elections between male and female candidates in a regression discontinuity design. I find that when a female candidate narrowly defeats a male opponent, women in the constituency significantly increase their hours worked, conditional on already being employed. However, female leadership does not increase women’s new entry into the labor force, and overall female labor force participation remains unchanged. These findings suggest that female political representation operates along the intensive margin of labor supply rather than by expanding participation at the extensive margin.

More information about the speaker