Since the turn of the millennium, studies have demonstrated a relationship between gender and corruption, finding that in countries where female political participation is higher, indicators of corruption are lower. This thesis approaches this debate in two ways, quantitatively and qualitatively. A multivariate regression analysis updates data for the year 2015 and incorporates underexplored institutional variables. Results show that the proportion of women in politics is positively and significantly correlated with reduced corruption, even when controlling for these institutional variables. The findings from this analysis are applied to a focused comparison of two countries, Rwanda and Haiti, which have very different female representation and corruption outcomes, despite the presence of a very similar institution, a 30 percent legislated gender quota. Using feminist institutionalism as a theoretical guide for the analysis, this thesis demonstrates that institutions such as democracy and auditing standards moderate the relationship between female representation and corruption outcomes. On that basis, it concludes that while increasing female participation in politics can modestly contribute to reducing corruption, linking female participation to strengthening democratic governance and institutionalizing accountability can further reduce corruption in some developing country contexts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/36874 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Dumont, Marie |
| Contributors | Baranyi, Stephen |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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