Why Women Mayors Reduce Corruption: Network or Political Agenda?

The growing evidence on the strong link between women in office and lower levels of corruption has resonated with policy making and influenced both international and national declarations. Currently, an increased women representation is not only promoted as an issue of political representation, meritocratic recruitment, and equal opportunities, but also as key in anti-corruption toolkit and for more efficient public service provision. However, we know less about when and why women in office reduce corruption levels. This study suggests that women mayors reduce corruption levels, but that the extent to which the effect of women mayors remains across election cycles is highly contingent on their political background and issue area specialization. The study uses newly collected and unique data on women mayors across three countries- Italy, Spain and France- and corruption risks for municipal contracts awarded 2005. Our preliminary RD and DiD analyses suggest that women mayors reduce corruption levels, but that only women that are embedded in elite networks also continue to do so over time. We interpret that while limited embeddedness in elite network can exclude women from participating in corrupt transactions, embeddedness in elite networks may also be a prerequisite for having the political skills required to effectively challenge powerful corrupt networks while still maintaining enough political support to manage to also stay in office.