Jade Ponsard

(Aix-Marseille School of Economics)

will give a presentation on

Collective Action and Gender Norms: Evidence from Suffragette Demonstrations

Abstract: Can collective action shape cultural norms? I study the effect of local exposure to suffragette demonstrations on gender norms. I exploit several crosscounties marches in the US undertaken by the suffragettes in the early 20th century to demand women’s right to vote. I build a novel historical database using local newspaper archives to map the itinerary of the marches. Using individuallevel information from the US censuses (1880-1920) and correcting for the nonrandom choice of routes taken using an established instrumental variable strategy, I find that being exposed to suffragette demonstrations decreases both fertility and marriage rates.