Impacto no desempenho de alunos de escolas públicas nos municípios com prefeitas mulheres: Uma análise utilizando regressão descontínua

Abstract

The participation of women in politics has been gaining increasing prominence, especially in the creation and execution of public policies. In the field of education, there is limited information about the effect that female mayors may have on educational policies in Brazil. This study analyzes the impact of the mayor's gender on school performance in Brazilian municipalities, focusing on elections decided by narrow margins of votes. The central hypothesis posits that the election of women to the position of mayor is associated with an increase in student performance, particularly in the subjects of Portuguese language and mathematics. To investigate this, data from the National System for Basic Education Assessment (SAEB) and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) were utilized, applying the regression iscontinuity design (RD) technique to identify the causal effect of female leadership. The results obtained reveal that the election of female mayors is positively associated with student performance in Portuguese language, presenting statistically significant evidence. In contrast, no significant impact was observed on mathematics scores. Furthermore, the study suggests that female mayors tend to implement public policies that prioritize the development of linguistic competencies, reflecting the importance of reading and writing in basic education. This work contributes to the literature on the influence of gender in political leadership, highlighting that while female leadership does not show a robust impact in areas such as mathematics, its presence may have positive effects on performance in language-related subjects. The results emphasize the relevance of promoting public policies that foster gender equality and improve educational quality, suggesting directions for future research that explores the relationship between political leadership and education.