Resumen de Women’s Preferences for Social Spending: Theory and Evidence from Spanish Political Representatives
Ascensión Andina-Díaz, Paula Penalva Planelles, María Socorro Puy Segura
We analyze whether political representatives have gendered preferences for social policies. We explore interview responses of one third of the Spanish legislators during the IX Spanish Legislature (2008- 2011). The data reveal that gender differences arise in the national chambers and within the right-wing party, where female representatives report a stronger preference for social spending on pensions and education. There are no significant gender differences within left-wing representatives or among regional representatives. From a theoretical perspective, we study how differences in gender preferences may affect both the gender identity of the parties’ candidates and the parties’ policy platforms.
