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Abstract

An established body of literature reveals that female leaders do not only improve outcomes for women through policymaking but can also promote the adoption of egalitarian gender norms. In the current paper, I explore whether this phenomenon extends to gender norms governing household decision-making. By exploiting close Indian state elections between male and female candidates, I show that quasi-random exposure to female leaders reduces men’s preference for husband-dominant household decisionmaking, particularly in decisions regarding fertility and major household purchases. However, there is no observed effect on actual household decision-making practices experienced by married women. I find this discrepancy is likely due to unmarried men, particularly young, unmarried men, driving the change in men’s preferences, with little observed change in the preferences of married men.

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