Political Science

Despite legal guarantees of equality, stark gaps in political participation and representation persist between men and women in democracies around the world. Evidence from advanced industrialized democracies shows that when women participate in higher numbers as voters (e.g. after the extension of suffrage rights), it produces policy shifts in line with their political preferences. However, it is unclear whether similar outcomes result in developing contexts where women?s voting rights are guaranteed in the constitution as a result of elite, rather than popular consensus.

Questions about whether and how political leaders influence outcomes are fundamental to the study of politics. If politicians are responsive to constituent opinions, one would expect to observe similar outcomes across different leaders. In reality, though, public policy outcomes tend to vary systematically depending on who serves in elected office. This dissertation examines representation in American cities. New data reveal that American mayors, like politicians at higher levels of government, tend not to be highly representative of their constituents.