Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/311963 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17524
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Small-scale federal democracies depend on the active participation of individuals in local political office. Both anecdotal evidence and empirical studies across Western democracies indicate a growing difficulty in recent decades to recruit candidates for municipal offices. This study examines the impact of monetary compensation and workload on the supply of candidates for municipal councils, drawing on the economic theory of political selection. Using data from municipal elections in over 500 municipalities across three Swiss cantons since the 1970s, we apply two-way fixed effects models to analyze the relationship between compensation, workload, and candidate supply. Our findings show that higher salaries do not lead to more competitive local elections or longer terms in office. However, reducing the workload associated with municipal mandates appears to be a more effective strategy for increasing candidate supply, particularly in recruiting women.
Subjects: 
political selection
candidate pool
compensation for public office
local council
workload
JEL: 
D72
J45
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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