Are women less corrupt than men?

Responsible researcher: Angelo Cruz do Nascimento Varella

Article title: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WOMAN WINS AN ELECTION? EVIDENCE FROM CLOSE RACES IN BRAZIL

Article authors: Fernanda Brollo and Ugo Troiano

Location of intervention: Brazil

Sample size: 723 municipal mayoral races

Big theme: Gender

Type of Intervention: Statistical comparison of corruption levels between male and female mayors

Main Variable of Interest: Levels of corruption

Evaluation method: Experimental Evaluation (RCT)

Policy Problem

Political corruption is a major problem in Brazil and around the world. Its occurrence generates inefficiencies in the allocation of public resources and causes socioeconomic problems in all layers of society. In order to combat it, researchers and professionals use technical knowledge and empirical research as powerful tools, which support public policy decisions that seek to mitigate this relevant obstacle.

This text deals with one of these empirical studies, of international recognition, which seeks to evaluate the difference between men and women in the practices of political corruption. In the analysis, several aspects of this highly complex problem are considered, in an attempt to compare corrupt acts between male and female mayors of Brazilian municipalities, as well as to define which characteristics are most common to different genders.

Assessment Context

In general, empirical studies indicate that political corruption is lower when women are in power, just as these representatives tend to make decisions more focused on increasing social well-being. In order to investigate these statements, the researchers used data from a relevant Brazilian initiative to combat corruption: random municipal public audits. Implemented in 2003, the Public Draw Inspection Program of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) carried out analyzes of the public accounts of Brazilian municipalities using a lottery system, with the intention of evaluating public accounts and investigating the existence of corrupt acts. or undue allocation of resources in municipal administrations.

In addition to analyzing public accounts in municipalities, the research also took into account other factors normally associated with political corruption, comparing results between men and women in similar situations. Factors such as the use of commissioned positions, campaign contributions, probability of reelection and allocation of public funds were also considered, building a robust analysis of gender differences in the political context of Brazilian city halls.

Policy Details

To compare gender differences in municipal leadership, the authors used several databases integrated into a statistical test called discontinuous regression. The aim is to control the complex Brazilian political scenario in order to characterize a fair comparison.

The analyzes encompass two elections for mayors in municipalities with less than 200 thousand inhabitants, covering the mandates from 2001 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2008. All information regarding the elections, as well as information related to the candidates, comes from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). Data on corruption were collected from the first 33 reports of the CGU program, which characterizes four types of political corruption in municipal power:

1. Illegal purchases
2. Fraud
3. Overpricing
4. Embezzlement of funds

The reports cover the period from May 2003 to July 2010. Other complementary data for the same period are collected from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the National Treasury, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.

Assessment Method

From the data collected, the researchers selected the electoral races in which a man competed against a woman, correlating these disputes with complementary data. Of the total of 5,567 municipalities, only 723 elections, between 2000 and 2004, were considered for the analysis, representing 7% of the total. It is worth noting that, of these selected municipalities, only 161 were selected for audits in the period analyzed, which characterizes the sample with information on political corruption. Other additional information includes:

 - Data on the four types of corrupt acts;

- Socioeconomic characteristics of the municipalities;

- Individual characteristics of the elected candidates;

- Conditions and numbers of public employees in city halls;

- Campaign contributions;

- If you are running for re-election or if you have already run before;

- Information about campaign contributions;

- Data on birth rates in municipalities;

- Educational data in municipalities.

Main Results

The observed results collaborate with the empirical findings of other authors, such that the elected candidates were involved in fewer acts of corruption, in addition to dedicating more resources to increasing social well-being. It is worth noting that, of the electoral races analyzed, 407 mayors and 316 mayors were elected, which represents a percentage of 56% men versus 44% women.

Regarding the results of political corruption, the probability of elected female candidates committing any of the corrupt acts listed by the CGU reports is 29 to 35 percentage points lower than male candidates. Regarding campaign contributions, female mayors attract between 30% and 55% less private funds (which were legal in the elections analyzed) than male candidates. The authors highlight the fact that there is a consensus in the literature that private contributions are recurrently associated with favoring contributing companies, which corroborates the hypothesis that women participate in a considerably smaller proportion of acts of corruption commonly practiced in Brazilian politics. There are also other possible explanations, such as machismo on the part of donors or greater capacity for political articulation on the part of men.

Another factor associated with corrupt practices refers to temporary positions, which are used by corrupt individuals to exchange political favors. The mayors analyzed hired, through commissioned positions, around 64 fewer individuals than the male mayors, which represents 52% of the total number of hires made by men. In election years, this difference increases to 80 positions. Additionally, despite having the same probability of running for re-election, the probability of being re-elected is 20 percentage points lower than mayors.

In relation to the other information analyzed, mayors tend to attract, on average, 60% more revenue from state and federal agencies for investments in their municipalities. Furthermore, municipalities led by women have better rates in prenatal care, normal births and school infrastructure, which also corroborates other empirical studies that demonstrate that female leaders provide better public goods and increase social well-being.

Public Policy Lessons

There is a vast discussion in academic literature about differences related to gender in politics. In this text, as well as in other research, female leaders present lower levels of political corruption, as well as presenting evidence that opposes the perpetuation of corrupt acts, such as private donations to electoral campaigns and the excessive hiring of temporary positions, especially in years with elections. In contrast, the probability of a mayor being elected is lower compared to mayors, even with similar conditions, which indicates that such improper acts can affect municipal campaigns in Brazil.

There is much to be discussed regarding the topic, so it is possible that Brazilian social characteristics represent influential factors that explain such results. It is noteworthy that, however, researchers carry out parallel tests in order to mitigate such possibilities, giving robustness to the results presented in this text. Due to the characteristics necessary for representation, women's candidacies for public positions of power must be encouraged, as well as the monitoring of results must be constant, in order to collaborate with the debate on the topic and enable the best possible conditions for politics national.

Reference

BROLLO, Fernanda; TROIANO, Ugo. What happens when a woman wins an election? Evidence from close races in Brazil. Journal of Development Economics, vol. 122, p. 28-45, 2016.