Gender Differences in Local Executives: Public Policy and Intergovernmental Transfers in a Brazilian state

Abstract

Feminist theory has offered new institutionalism key contributions as to how gender relates to public policy. Feminist institutionalism has researched the many ways wel­fare policies have impacted women and the many ways women, as elected officials, have im­pacted those policies in turn. As substantive representation research turns its eye towards legislative representatives, women in executive offices and their actions have been overlooked. As studies show, there are certain policy areas that face gender stereotypes: education, health, arts, family protection, and other welfare areas. Brazilian federalism and its execution of welfare policies is quite specific in its institutional design. Since the end of the last dictator­ship, there have been efforts towards decentralisation. States have more control over their spending; however, municipalities face stricter rules regarding taxation and how to spend it. Municipalities are in charge of executing most of Brazilian public policy, but have little control in designing them. What they are allowed to design tends to be induced through programmes and resources. Those resources for the execution of programmes come from several kinds of transfers, from federal and state governments. In the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil, the Robin Hood Law states that municipalities that create institutions and/or policies in certain welfare areas will have access to slightly more resources. Research has shown that municipalities do invest in bettering themselves in this institu­tionalisation process, despite the small amount of funds that come with them. Therefore, our research asks: are female mayors more efficient in accessing specific resources from govern­ment transfers? Using regression analysis and other statistical tools, we hope to able to dem­onstrate how gender might play a role in the division of those funds.