Family Structure and the Gender Turnout Gap

• In Event: Family and Political Behavior

Abstract

We study the effects of changes in household structure--marriage, divorce, widowhood, and the presence of children of different ages–on individual-level voter turnout. To this end, we assemble a unique voter-level panel dataset spanning four elections in a large Italian municipality. The data merge information from administrative voter rolls, the civil register, and income tax files. Differences-in-differences estimates accounting for voter and age-by-gender fixed effects reveal highly gendered turnout effects of transitions in family status: marriage increases men’s turnout, leaving women’s unchanged; young children reduce maternal turnout, leaving paternal turnout unchanged. We also use survey data to explore potential mechanisms. We identify peer-pressure within couples as the likely source of marriage effects, and the gender imbalance in family chores allocation as the likely source of our parenting effects.

Authors

• Jerome Schafer, Yale University

• Enrico Cantoni, University of Bologna