The impact of decentralisation on the political activities of men and women in Europe.

This research paper studies the effect of decentralisation, gender and their interaction has on eight different forms of political participation. Decentralised institutions have long been held up as a significant determinant in raising citizens’ participation rates. Based upon existing theory it is speculated that decentralisation may have a different impact on participation rates between men and women. This argument is empirically tested using data from the ninth edition of the European Social Survey (ESS). Results from eight logistic regression analyses indicate that for most types of participation the effect decentralisation does not differ for men and women. Moreover, the findings indicate that men and women are more likely to engage in different categories of political participation. Additionally, it was found that decentralisation is significantly related to all but one type of political participation. These findings add onto the existing debate on the role of decentralisation as well as the current discussion about gender disparities in political participation.