Policymakers and scholars are increasingly looking to mayors as policy innovators capable of addressing critical challenges, including income inequality. A robust scholarly debate contests whether mayors are (1) limited by economic constraints and unable to prioritize redistributive initiatives, or (2) spurred to pursue equity-oriented policies according to partisan and ideological preferences....

To what extent do politicians reward voters who are members of their own ethnic or racial group? Using data from large cities in the United States, we study how black employment outcomes are affected by changes in the race of the cities’ mayors between 1973 and 2004. We find that black employment and labor force participation rise, and the black unemployment rate falls, during the tenure of bla...

Local governments are particularly relevant to people’s daily lives as they manage infrastructure and services that directly influence quality of life. Elected mayors tend to be more responsive to the needs of the poor majority than centrally-appointed mayors or mayors elected by fellow councillors. Colombia’s municipal mayors have been elected since 1988, with local governments given increased...

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 po...