Political competition and representation in municipal councils

Abstract

ABSTRACT I study whether the numbers of high- and low-social status-individuals in French municipal councils are affected by the level of political competition. I argue that because the most-eligible positions within lists of candidates are obtained by high-social-status persons, political competition increases the number of high-status municipal councilors and is thus detrimental to the election of low-social-status candidates. Using the elections of 2008 and 2014, I provide suggestive evidence that the socioeconomic status of individuals is indeed correlated with their position within lists of candidates. Moreover, I show that the presence of an additional competing list during an election is associated with 0.2 additional high-social-status individuals within the municipal councils. I also observe that those additional municipal councilors are males, which is a result that might have been caused by the gender quota policy implemented in French local elections.