Do Female Politicians Influence Public Spending? Evidence from Taiwan

Taiwan is at the top of the list among Asian countries when it comes to the number of female legislators in national parliament. However, whether the increasing level of female politicians has an effect on policy outcomes is unclear. This is because female politicians’ work on women’s issues is often restricted by party discipline with the flourishing development of political parties and the politically fanatic electorates in Taiwan. To answer this question, this study first investigates the effects of female mayors on public spending while controlling for the incumbent party and gender mix in the council at each county, and then introduces the idea of a close election to examine the effect of female politicians. Results suggest that female mayors propose a higher share of government funding for social welfare.