An empirical analysis of women’s influence on management of financial risk in local governments

Abstract

This study analyse the impact of female on the management of financial risk faced by local governments (LGs), through political and population variables. We conduct a statistical analysis of panel data to examine the financial behaviour of 133 large LGs in Spain during the period 2009-2017. The results reveal that LGs with a female mayor are at lower risk of default. Likewise, we found that the number of female members of the city council and the degree of political fragmentation are inversely associated with the risk of default. This risk is also alleviated by population variables, such as a larger female population, a larger rate of unemployment among women and a smaller population of women aged over 65 years. Our findings have important implications and usefulness for a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, managers, practitioners and fiscal authorities concerned by solvency, financial risks and possible default in LGs.

Keywords

• Gender
• Financial risk
• Solvency
• Local governments
• Data panel