Are Female Politicians More Responsive to International Crises?
10 Pages Posted: 13 Jul 2014
Date Written: July 11, 2014
Abstract
This paper analyzes bilateral foreign aid flows over the period 1973-2010 to investigate whether the gender composition of legislatures in donor nations affects the aid response to recipient country crises. Our findings suggest that donors with higher shares of women in office provide larger amounts of foreign aid in the wake of a disaster or war in a recipient nation. This response increases in size with the magnitude of the crisis, and is especially pronounced for aid flows designated as disaster relief.
Keywords: Female Leaders, Foreign Aid, Disasters, Conflict
JEL Classification: F35, H84, J16, D70
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation