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Female Representation and Corruption: A Quantitative Study on the Association Between Female Representation and Corruption within Swedish Municipalities

Olsson, Albin Johannes LU (2026) STVM25 20261
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis examines the relationship between gender and corruption within Swedish municipalities. While Sweden is frequently associated with honest governance, concerns regarding corruption have increased in recent years, particularly in municipalities due to their corruption-prone operations. Previous research remains divided on whether women reduce corruption or if the relationship is better explained by institutional and contextual factors, especially within democratic settings. This study contributes to the academic discourse by examining whether higher levels of female representation correlate with lower levels of perceived and experienced corruption in both the legislative and bureaucratic arenas of municipal governments. Two... (More)
This thesis examines the relationship between gender and corruption within Swedish municipalities. While Sweden is frequently associated with honest governance, concerns regarding corruption have increased in recent years, particularly in municipalities due to their corruption-prone operations. Previous research remains divided on whether women reduce corruption or if the relationship is better explained by institutional and contextual factors, especially within democratic settings. This study contributes to the academic discourse by examining whether higher levels of female representation correlate with lower levels of perceived and experienced corruption in both the legislative and bureaucratic arenas of municipal governments. Two theoretical frameworks, the conditional and opportunity perspectives, are utilized to develop competing hypotheses. Sweden, and by extension its municipalities, constitutes a most- and least-likely case for the respective theoretical perspectives. This study applies Fixed Effects models to data from three large-scale surveys across three mandate periods to test the hypotheses. Additionally, Random Effects and Pooled Regression models are employed to determine the robustness of the results. The empirical findings indicate that higher female representation in the previous mandate period is significantly and negatively associated with corruption in the subsequent period, thus lending support to the conditional perspective. (Less)
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author
Olsson, Albin Johannes LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM25 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Corruption, Gender, Representation, Sweden, Municipalities
language
English
id
9227163
date added to LUP
2026-06-16 14:11:15
date last changed
2026-06-16 14:11:15
@misc{9227163,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines the relationship between gender and corruption within Swedish municipalities. While Sweden is frequently associated with honest governance, concerns regarding corruption have increased in recent years, particularly in municipalities due to their corruption-prone operations. Previous research remains divided on whether women reduce corruption or if the relationship is better explained by institutional and contextual factors, especially within democratic settings. This study contributes to the academic discourse by examining whether higher levels of female representation correlate with lower levels of perceived and experienced corruption in both the legislative and bureaucratic arenas of municipal governments. Two theoretical frameworks, the conditional and opportunity perspectives, are utilized to develop competing hypotheses. Sweden, and by extension its municipalities, constitutes a most- and least-likely case for the respective theoretical perspectives. This study applies Fixed Effects models to data from three large-scale surveys across three mandate periods to test the hypotheses. Additionally, Random Effects and Pooled Regression models are employed to determine the robustness of the results. The empirical findings indicate that higher female representation in the previous mandate period is significantly and negatively associated with corruption in the subsequent period, thus lending support to the conditional perspective.}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Albin Johannes}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Female Representation and Corruption: A Quantitative Study on the Association Between Female Representation and Corruption within Swedish Municipalities}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}