Effects of representative bureaucracy on perceived performance and fairness: Experimental evidence from South Asia
通过在孟加拉国、尼泊尔和斯里兰卡进行的调查实验，研究官僚机构中女性代表比例如何影响公众对委员会绩效和公平感的评价，发现无代表时评价最低，平等或过度代表时评价更高。
Abstract This study explores the relationship between gender representation in bureaucracy and perceived performance and fairness. It uses data from a survey experiment that was part of a national representative survey conducted in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In the experiment, respondents were informed about a hypothetical 10‐member committee responsible for controlling violence against women and that it processes around 150 cases per year. The committee composition was then manipulated based on gender representation to capture whether women's representation in the committee mattered for respondents' evaluation of its performance and fairness. The study finds that in a “no representation” scenario, respondents reported the lowest perceived performance and fairness, while in scenarios such as “equal representation” or “over representation” of women, they reported higher perceived performance and fairness. Furthermore, variations in perceived performance are found to be associated with changing expectations of fair treatment generated by the different representations of women.