6533b852fe1ef96bd12aad9c
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Quantitative Analysis of Gender Stereotypes and Information Aggregation in a National Election
Salvatore MiccichèRosario N. MantegnaRosario N. MantegnaJan VarhoJyrki PiiloMichele Tumminellosubject
MaleEconomicsmedia_common.quotation_subjectPolitical ScienceInformation Theorylcsh:Medicinecomplex systems network theorySocial WelfareSocial and Behavioral SciencesElectionsSexual and Gender IssuesPoliticsSex FactorsSettore SECS-S/06 -Metodi Mat. dell'Economia e d. Scienze Attuariali e Finanz.SociologySex factorsPolitical scienceVotingSurveys and QuestionnairesHumansDimension (data warehouse)Statistical Methodslcsh:ScienceInformation Sciencemedia_commonProbabilityMultidisciplinaryModels Statisticalta114lcsh:RStatisticsPoliticsInformation EconomicsSettore FIS/07 - Fisica Applicata(Beni Culturali Ambientali Biol.e Medicin)Quantitative analysis (finance)Information aggregationNational electionPublic OpinionSocial SystemsVoting behaviorlcsh:QFemaleSocial psychologyMathematicsAlgorithmsResearch Articledescription
By analyzing a database of a questionnaire answered by a large majority of candidates and elected in a parliamentary election, we quantitatively verify that (i) female candidates on average present political profiles which are more compassionate and more concerned with social welfare issues than male candidates and (ii) the voting procedure acts as a process of information aggregation. Our results show that information aggregation proceeds with at least two distinct paths. In the first case candidates characterize themselves with a political profile aiming to describe the profile of the majority of voters. This is typically the case of candidates of political parties which are competing for the center of the various political dimensions. In the second case, candidates choose a political profile manifesting a clear difference from opposite political profiles endorsed by candidates of a political party positioned at the opposite extreme of some political dimension.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-01-01 | PLoS ONE |