Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / Vita. Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Iowa State University, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 116).

The first chapter analyzes the impact of gender quota regulation on women's participation in politics. Gender quotas are the main policy tools used to encourage participation in politics. A natural experiment in Spanish municipal elections is exploited to study the success of such reforms. Gender quotas are found to improve the number of women candidates, but due to strategic reaction from political parties, much fewer women are being elected. Political parties disproportionately allocate women to the lowest possible position while still complying with the law. Parties have a propensity to assign women candidates to positions where they have relatively low chance of being elected. There is also no shift in public policy toward spending preferred by women. The second chapter presents empirical evidence in support of the Leviathan model of government. In Spain, the number of politicians chosen in local elections depends on the population of the municipality. Using a data set that covers over two decades of municipal elections, I present two main results. First, there is an unusual concentration of municipalities (bunching) with reported populations just above the threshold that increases the number of local representatives. I present compelling evidence that elected officials manipulate population figures in advance of upcoming elections in order to maximize the size of the council. Second, I use machine learning techniques to construct an unbiased measure of population based on luminosity data and census population figures, and study which municipalities are more likely to misreport based on the quality of the democratic institutions. Based on those measures, I conclude that misreporting is more likely to happen in municipalities with higher turnout and less parties in their council. The final chapter studies the impact that World War II fatalities had on political preferences during the twentieth century in the United States. We document enlistment and fatalities at the county level and use this variation to study the hypothesis that fatalities permanently shifted U.S. political preferences. In particular, we test whether the proximate casualties theory, which states that voters punish incumbents in the short run after a war, affected United States counties after World War II. We conclude that there is not enough evidence in our analysis to determine that fatalities during World War II significantly impacted long term political preferences.

Thesis advisor: Claudia Olivetti / Thesis advisor: Arthur Lewbel / The goal of this dissertation is to understand the absence of women from executive and high-earning positions, with a special focus on the corporate environment. In the first chapter, I analyze the role of news media towards explaining why women in top executive roles in the United States face more unstable appointments relative to their male counterparts. To improve female representation at the top of the firm, several European countries mandated gender quotas on corporate boards. In the second chapter, I analyze a board gender quota mandated on Italian listed companies and its effects on the composition of the board and firm performance. Family responsibilities are among the most important factors that prevent women from reaching high-earning positions. In the third chapter, I broaden the scope of my investigation to high-skill women in the United States, and provide explanations for the very large increase in childcare hours spent on young children by high-skill mothers of the recent generations. The first chapter, “Media Focus, Executive Turnover, and Female Leadership”, analyzes how the tendency of news media to focus on negative events affects executive turnover in publicly listed firms in the U.S., and to what extent negative media focus explains the relatively higher incidence of turnover for women in top executive roles. Negative media focus implies that news reporting decisions can produce downward-biased public beliefs on firm performance. From the standpoint of a rational board, pessimistic public beliefs on firm performance may affect the expected benefit of retaining a CEO, and in turn, turnover decisions. Linking CEO positions to firm-level news, I provide evidence that the negative focus is higher when a company is led by a woman or an outsider CEO. Counterfactual simulations from a model of executive turnover with event-dependent media focus show that the higher negative focus explains around 15% of the differential turnover rate in female-led firms, even when women are as effective at managing the firm as their male counterparts. In the second chapter, “Do Board Gender Quotas Matter? Selection, Performance, and Stock Market Effects”, co-authored with Giulia Ferrari, Paola Profeta, and Chiara Pronzato, I analyze the effects of a gender quota mandated on corporate boards of Italian listed companies in 2013. Exploiting staggered board elections, we find that quotas are associated with a new selection of board members – characterized by higher education and lower age – and no significant costs, neither on firm performance nor on the stock market. In the third chapter, “Revisiting the Childcare Gap Between High- and Low-Skill mothers”, I show that information diffusion on the importance of early child development has been growing fast starting from the mid-1990s. At the same time, childcare hours have increased, especially for mothers of very young children and the high-educated. I argue that information diffusion on the importance of early investments coupled with increasing income inequality plays an important role towards rationalizing some of the trends in childcare time and the widening of the education gradient in childcare hours at different ages of the child’s lifecycle. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier quelle composition du conseil d’administration permet d’assurer l’efficacité de ses fonctions de surveillance et de conseil. Dans le chapitre 1, nous étudions si la présence d’administrateurs qui sont liés à des actionnaires minoritaires peut constituer un mécanisme efficace de gouvernance d'entreprise pour limiter l'expropriation par les actionnaires majoritaires, sans exacerber les risques. L’étude empirique de ce chapitre est réalisée sur un échantillon de banques avec un actionnariat concentré. Les résultats indiquent que la présence d’administrateurs minoritaires permet d’augmenter l'efficacité du conseil d'administration des banques dans la mesure où elle entraîne une valorisation de marché plus élevée, sans augmentation du risque. Le chapitre 2 complète le premier chapitre afin de déterminer les facteurs, tant au niveau de la banque que du pays, qui peuvent favoriser la présence d’administrateurs minoritaires dans les conseils de banque. Les résultats montrent que: (i) l’importance des droits de vote des actionnaires majoritaires, la qualité des recommandations envers le conseil d'administration dans les codes de gouvernance d'entreprise et le niveau de protection des actionnaires sont des facteurs qui favorisent la présence d’administrateurs minoritaires au sein des conseils des banques; (ii) des régimes de surveillance stricts et une forte opacité réduisent la présence d’administrateurs minoritaires dans les conseils d'administration des banques. Nos travaux suggèrent que les autorités bancaires devraient recommander aux banques avec un actionnariat concentré d'inclure un minimum d’administrateurs minoritaires dans leur conseil d'administration. Dans le chapitre 3, nous examinons l'impact de l’imposition d’un quota minimum de membres de chaque sexe sur la performance des entreprises et leurs décisions, en prenant le cas de la Belgique, la France et l'Italie comme expérience naturelle. Notre analyse statistique montre que le pourcentage de femmes augmente de manière significative et que les caractéristiques des membres du conseil d’administration changent considérablement après la mise en place du quota. Les résultats empiriques montrent que les quotas n’ont pas d’impact significatif sur la performance des entreprises et leurs décisions. Nos résultats appuient la mise en place d’un quota afin d’assurer une représentation équilibrée des hommes et des femmes au sein des conseils d’administration des entreprises. Ils montrent cependant que les régulateurs créent des attentes irréalistes quant à la capacité des femmes à améliorer les performances des entreprises, du moins à court terme lorsque les effets négatifs de l’imposition d’un quota sont potentiellement les plus importants. / His thesis aims to provide some answers to the question of what makes a board effective in carrying out its monitoring and advising functions. In Chapter 1, we examine whether board structures that include directors that are related to minority shareholders can be an effective corporate governance mechanism to limit expropriation by controlling shareholders, without exacerbating risk. We focus our empirical analysis of this chapter on banks with a concentrated ownership structure. We find that the inclusion of such minority directors does indeed increase the effectiveness of bank boards, as it results in higher market valuations, without increasing risk. Chapter 2 complements the first chapter to determine the factors, at the bank and at the country level, that could favor the presence of minority directors on bank boards. We find that: (i) the voting rights of controlling shareholders, the quality of recommendations for boards of directors in Corporate Governance Codes and higher shareholder protection are factors that promote the presence of minority directors on bank boards; (ii) the degree of opacity and stronger supervisory regimes reduce the presence of minority directors on bank boards. Our work suggests that bank authorities should recommend banks with concentrated ownership structure to include a minimum of minority directors in their board. In Chapter 3, we investigate the impact of gender quotas on firm performance and corporate decisions using Belgium, France and Italy as a natural experiment. Our statistical analysis shows that the percentage of female directors significantly increases, and board members characteristics significantly change after the implementation of the gender quota. The results of our empirical analysis show evidence that gender quotas do not have a significant impact on both firm outcomes and corporate decisions. Our findings support the decision of policy-makers to use mandatory rules to force firm to achieve gender balance on corporate boards. Our results suggest that policy-makers create unrealistic expectations for women to boost firm performance, at least in the short-run when negative side effects of mandatory rules are potentially strongest.

[pt] Este artigo estuda o impacto de um dos maiores programas de aprendizagem do mundo, o programa Jovem Aprendiz no Brasil, nas decisões de contratação das empresas. O programa teve como objetivo expandir as oportunida desde emprego para jovens, combinando incentivos fiscais e cotas de contratação para que as empresas contratem aprendizes. No entanto, esses incentivos não impedem que as empresas substituam contratos de não aprendizes por contratos de aprendizes. Para avaliar esses efeitos, utilizamos uma abordagem de diferenças em diferenças escalonadas, que aproveita um limite exógeno para a entrada no programa. Nossos resultados indicam que as empresas aumentam a contratação de aprendizes após ultrapassar o limite. No entanto, esse aumento é acompanhado por uma redução na entrada de trabalhadores entrantes que não são aprendizes, o que é consistente com a hipótese de substituição. / [en] This paper studies the impact of one of the largest apprenticeship programs in the world, the Jovem Aprendiz program in Brazil, on firms hiring decisions. The program aimed to expand job opportunities among young individuals by combining tax incentives and hiring quotas for firms to hire apprentices. However, these incentives do not prevent firms from substituting non-apprentice contracts for apprentice contracts. To assess these effects, we use a staggered differences-in-differences approach that leverages an exogenous threshold for entry into the program. Our results indicate that firms increase the hiring of apprentices after surpassing the threshold. However, this rise is accompanied by a decline in the entry of non-apprentices first-time workers, consistent with the substitution hypothesis.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1958 S56

O presente trabalho busca analisar a política de cotas na Universidade de Pernambuco, procurando observar seus possíveis impactos na composição racial dos ingressantes nos cursos de graduação da referida instituição. O desenvolvimento desta pesquisa recorreu a seis bancos de dados, referentes aos exames vestibulares entre os anos de 2005 a 2010, os quais foram estudados por meio de uma abordagem quantitativa. Analisamos os efeitos na distribuição racial por cursos específicos, considerando o background social dos vestibulandos, desagregando-os em grupos comparativos por raça e origem escolar (beneficiários ou não da reserva de vagas), bem como outras categorias relevantes. Sistematizamos nossa observação a partir de três aspectos, os quais, segundo propomos, relacionam-se com a elaboração da política de cotas: a trajetória histórica e institucional da universidade; o mercado de ensino profissional superior na região; o contexto de mobilização político-social, especificamente no tocante à temática racial. Esses três pontos são analisados em consonância a uma orientação teórica que busca fundamentar as especificidades da realidade pernambucana no que diz respeito às relações raciais no estado e na composição de um quadro reprodutor de desigualdade durável. Concluímos, por meio da análise dos dados, que a concatenação dessas dinâmicas e especificidades repercute tanto na forma quanto nos efeitos da política de cotas da Universidade de Pernambuco, visto que, de maneira geral, tem levado a uma maior inclusão de estudantes negros advindos de escola pública, ao mesmo tempo em que ficam evidentes as estratégias empregadas pelos estudantes não-negros na reprodução do controle dos nichos ocupacionais mais prestigiosos. / The present work seeks to analyze the quota policy in the admission process of the University of Pernambuco, looking for their possible outcomes in regards to the racial composition among the undergraduate students. In this research we used six different databanks related to the admission exams (vestibular) from 2005 until 2010, recurring to a quantitative approach for our study. We have analyzed the effects over the racial distribution in specific courses and considered the social background of the freshmen students, establishing comparable groups such as race and school origin (beneficiary or non-beneficiary of the quota policy), as well as other relevant categories. We have systematized our observation based on three aspects which, according to our proposition, are related to the elaboration of the quota policy: the historic and institutional trajectory of the university; the professional higher education market of the region; the context of political and social mobilization, especially concerning to the racial issue. These three points are analyzed in alignment with a theoretical orientation that seeks to justify the specificities regarding the race relations in Pernambuco and the reproduction of durable inequality. We have concluded, through data analysis, that the articulation of these dynamics and specificities resonates in both form and effects of the quota policy implemented by the University of Pernambuco, considering that, in a general way, it has included mostly black students coming from public schools, at the same time it highlights the strategies adopted by non-black students in keeping the more prestigious professional niches under control.

O presente trabalho busca analisar a política de cotas na Universidade de Pernambuco, procurando observar seus possíveis impactos na composição racial dos ingressantes nos cursos de graduação da referida instituição. O desenvolvimento desta pesquisa recorreu a seis bancos de dados, referentes aos exames vestibulares entre os anos de 2005 a 2010, os quais foram estudados por meio de uma abordagem quantitativa. Analisamos os efeitos na distribuição racial por cursos específicos, considerando o background social dos vestibulandos, desagregando-os em grupos comparativos por raça e origem escolar (beneficiários ou não da reserva de vagas), bem como outras categorias relevantes. Sistematizamos nossa observação a partir de três aspectos, os quais, segundo propomos, relacionam-se com a elaboração da política de cotas: a trajetória histórica e institucional da universidade; o mercado de ensino profissional superior na região; o contexto de mobilização político-social, especificamente no tocante à temática racial. Esses três pontos são analisados em consonância a uma orientação teórica que busca fundamentar as especificidades da realidade pernambucana no que diz respeito às relações raciais no estado e na composição de um quadro reprodutor de desigualdade durável. Concluímos, por meio da análise dos dados, que a concatenação dessas dinâmicas e especificidades repercute tanto na forma quanto nos efeitos da política de cotas da Universidade de Pernambuco, visto que, de maneira geral, tem levado a uma maior inclusão de estudantes negros advindos de escola pública, ao mesmo tempo em que ficam evidentes as estratégias empregadas pelos estudantes não-negros na reprodução do controle dos nichos ocupacionais mais prestigiosos. / The present work seeks to analyze the quota policy in the admission process of the University of Pernambuco, looking for their possible outcomes in regards to the racial composition among the undergraduate students. In this research we used six different databanks related to the admission exams (vestibular) from 2005 until 2010, recurring to a quantitative approach for our study. We have analyzed the effects over the racial distribution in specific courses and considered the social background of the freshmen students, establishing comparable groups such as race and school origin (beneficiary or non-beneficiary of the quota policy), as well as other relevant categories. We have systematized our observation based on three aspects which, according to our proposition, are related to the elaboration of the quota policy: the historic and institutional trajectory of the university; the professional higher education market of the region; the context of political and social mobilization, especially concerning to the racial issue. These three points are analyzed in alignment with a theoretical orientation that seeks to justify the specificities regarding the race relations in Pernambuco and the reproduction of durable inequality. We have concluded, through data analysis, that the articulation of these dynamics and specificities resonates in both form and effects of the quota policy implemented by the University of Pernambuco, considering that, in a general way, it has included mostly black students coming from public schools, at the same time it highlights the strategies adopted by non-black students in keeping the more prestigious professional niches under control.

O presente estudo tem como objetivo a análise da questão da igualdade no acesso ao cargo público sob a perspectiva da teoria da justiça de John Rawls, com o propósito de verificar se as ações afirmativas de reserva de vagas em concursos públicos são justas de acordo com a referida teoria. Trata-se de pesquisa teórica que se desdobra em quatro fases. Na primeira, analisa-se a teoria da justiça de Rawls no tocante a seus elementos centrais e às ideias políticas que podem tê-la influenciado. Na segunda, analisam-se modelos de Estado e de administração pública como um modo de subsidiar as discussões relacionadas ao cargo público. Na terceira, busca-se discutir o acesso ao cargo público mediante concurso público e sua relação com os princípios da justiça de Rawls. Na quarta, passa-se à análise da conformidade das ações afirmativas com a teoria da justiça e à análise da reserva de vagas (cotas) para negros em concursos públicos federais no Brasil. Considera-se, ao final, que as cotas, na maior parte dos casos, violam a igualdade equitativa de oportunidades segundo a perspectiva da teoria da justiça de Rawls. / The present study aims to analyze the matter of equality in the access to public office under the perspective of John Rawls theory of justice, with the intention of verifying if job reservation affirmative actions in public civil service examinations are fair according to the above mentioned theory. It is a theoretical research which unfolds in four phases. In the first one, Rawls theory of justice is analyzed regarding its central elements and the political ideas that might have influenced it. In the second one, state and public administration models are analyzed as a way of subsidizing the discussions related to public office. In the third one, it tries to discuss the access to public offices by means of public civil service examinations and their relation to Rawls principles of justice. In the fourth one, the conformity of affirmative actions with the theory of justice and the reservation for blacks (quotas) in federal civil service examinations in Brazil are analyzed. It is considered, in the end , that quotas, in most cases ,do violate fair equality of opportunity according to the perspective of Rawls theory of justice.