What happens when women join the fight? This paper studies the Italian Resistance in World War II, when thousands of women took on political and military roles within clandestine networks. Using a novel micro-level dataset on the members of the Resistance (≈ 240 000), I uncover the long-run political effects of women’s wartime agency. Across municipalities, higher female Resistance translated into more women running for national office and stronger support for women’s rights, with effects persisting to this day. Identification relies on extensive prewar controls and an instrumental variable strategy based on terrain ruggedness, which increased reliance on local women to sustain Resistance cells. By stepping into roles traditionally reserved for men, these women catalyzed a cultural transformation. The findings shed new light on how brief, salient shocks can update beliefs about gender roles and permanently alter the trajectory of women’s empowerment.
Presentations: [* Scheduled]
2nd UniCatt Political Economy Workshop (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)*;
4th PhD and Post-Doctoral Workshop (University of Naples Federico II);
11th IEB Workshop on Political Economy (Universitat de Barcelona);
3rd Workshop in Economic History (Uppsala University);
"Mend the Gap in Economic Opportunities in Europe and Central Asia" Workshop (EIEF) [poster];
2025 NICEP Conference (University of Nottingham);
UBC Development/Political Economy Lunch;
49th Simposio de la Asociación Española de Economía (Universitat de les Illes Balears);
UC3M PhD Workshop;
UC3M Applied Economics Reading Group.
Men and women differ in political behaviour and leadership style. Does the gender of politicians affect engagement in political budget cycles? We exploit mixed-gender mayoral races in Italian municipalities (2002-2017) using a Regression Discontinuity Design. Male mayors elected by a small margin against a female opponent are more likely to engage in strategic spending before and during elections, especially on highly visible projects such as roads, transport and waste disposal. These cycles worsen the municipal budget without improving re-election chances.