Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/180264 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 7002
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
The role of women in Western societies changed dramatically in the 20th century. We study how political empowerment affected women’s emancipation as reflected in their life choices like marital decisions and labor market participation. The staggered introduction of female suffrage in Swiss states allows us to exploit the variation in the age women experienced enfranchisement to estimate the differences in life choices between women who were socialized in a world where women had a formal say in politics and those who were mainly socialized before. Our empirical findings document that political empowerment strongly increased female labor force participation, weakened marital bonds and motivated human capital investment. Moreover, being socialized with female suffrage increased long-term voting participation and perceptions of control. Our evidence suggests that changes in formal political institutions hold the power to change norms.
Subjects: 
female suffrage
voting rights
institutions
norms
female labor force participation
marital choices
voting participation
efficacy
JEL: 
D02
D72
J12
J16
J22
J24
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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