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arXiv · 2410.06091

Gender politics, environmental behaviours, and local territories: Evidence from Italian municipalities

Chiara Lodi·Agnese Sacchi·Francesco Vidoli
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Abstract

We investigated the impact of female politicians on waste collection in Italian municipalities in different territories observed over the years 2010-2019. We used a staggered difference-in-differences design to obtain a causal interpretation of the estimated effects. We find that the majority of women in the municipal council positively influence pro-environmental individual behaviour. The impact of a female-majority council is heterogeneous by region and more pronounced in areas with lower social capital. Female politicians as catalysts for positive change fade after 5-6 years, likely due to persistent social norms locally, thus stressing the need for additional cultural actions with long-lasting effects.

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Chiara Lodi, Agnese Sacchi, Francesco Vidoli. 2024-10-08. Gender politics, environmental behaviours, and local territories: Evidence from Italian municipalities. https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.06091

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