Women^s Parliamentary Representation and Government Spending in Singapore Dr Ella Prihatini- Dr Lili Yulyadi Arnakim- Galuh Dian Prama Dewi, MA
Department of International Relations
Bina Nusantara (BINUS) University, Jakarta, Indonesia
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that the percentage of women in national
legislatures is associated with increases in social spending, spending on family
benefits, and spending on health and social welfare. However, the literature on
women^s substantive representation is dominated by the western context. What
about non-Western advanced economies? Does a similar pattern take place in
Singapore, one of the richer countries in Asia? Using a unique dataset for the years spanning from 1970 to 2020, this paper aims to unpack the experience in Singapore. The case study offers interesting insights as to how the island state is conforming the literature on women^s representation and government spending. Increase in women^s political participation only has a rather mild positive correlation with government expenditure on health (0.58).
Keywords: women^s representation, parliamentary representation, gender, government spending, Singapore
