Intergovernmental Representation at Different Levels of Government: The Effect of Gender Representation

• Published date: 01 July 2022
• Author: Sanghee Park,Yesse Charles Mwihambi
• Date: 01 July 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13440

Research Article

Intergovernmental Representation at Different Levels of Government: The Effect of Gender Representation 721

Abstract: This study examines whether and where bureaucratic representation occurs within the bureaucratic

hierarchy and how intergovernmental representation contributes to government efforts to reduce social disparities and

improve gender-related outcomes. The context is the national/central, ministerial, and regional governments of the

United Republic of Tanzania for 14 years (2006–2019). The findings reveal that gender representation at the upper

level of government plays a primary role in reducing poverty, but its impact on women’s socioeconomic status, i.e.,

women’s education and unemployment rate, is limited within the study context. The findings also highlight that the

existence and the impact of intergovernmental representation depend on the primary missions of the government at

different levels, policy outcomes of interest, and social contexts where identities are constructed and interpreted. This

study claims that the potential interdependence of bureaucratic representation across multiple government agencies and

institutions deserves more attention in the representative bureaucracy scholarship.

Evidence for Practice

• A gender-representative government at different levels creates a synergistic effect on reducing poverty and

women’s disadvantage.

• In a developing country, gender representation at the upper levels of government plays a primary role in

reducing poverty; and yet has a limited effect on improving gender equality.

• The benefits for women may be marginal when a government focuses only on the numeric increase of

women in government rather than on enhancing women’s rights and socioeconomic status overall.

Over the past several decades, the scholarship

of representative bureaucracy has

explored whether and how bureaucratic

representation affects the way bureaucracy and/

or bureaucrats represent the interests of the people

and when and how it occurs (Groeneveld et al.

2015; Keiser et al.2002; Meier and Nicholson-

Crotty2006; Wilkins and Keiser2006, among

many). Empirical evidence has shown that

bureaucracy’s demographic compositions influence

policy outcomes in ways that improve the quality

and equity of public service (collectively) and that

bureaucrats’ gender and/or racial identities affect

their behavior in advocating the interests of groups

with shared identities (individually). Despite decades

of research, however, the translation mechanism

between passive and active representation is not

entirely clear (Meier2019, 39), the direction is not

always as expected (e.g., Wilkins and Williams2008,

2009), and the evidence has mostly been drawn

from the U.S. (e.g., Kennedy2014). Furthermore,

it remains unclear where and how the translation

occurs within and across government agencies and

institutions.

This study examines whether and where bureaucratic

representation occurs within the bureaucratic

hierarchy, and how intergovernmental representation

contributes to government efforts to reduce social

disparities and improve gender-related outcomes.

With panel data on Tanzania’s mid-sized local

government named region for 14 years from

2006 to 2019, we examine the effect of gender

representation in the executive branch of the United

Republic of Tanzania (URT or Tanzania)—national

(central), ministerial, and local governments. The

findings reveal the interactive effect of bureaucratic

representation, which varies across the outcomes

of interest. This study draws attention to three

prominent issues in theorizing and solidifying key

arguments of representative bureaucracy.

First, this study explores the differential effect of

bureaucratic representation at different levels of

government constrained by varying degrees of

mandates from higher authorities. It attempts to

expand the dialogue about the ranks of individual

bureaucrats’ positions to the vertical and horizontal

levels of bureaucratic organizations within the

Intergovernmental Representation at Different Levels

of Government: The Effect of Gender Representation

Sanghee Park

Yesse Charles Mwihambi

School of Public Policy, Boise State University

Yesse Charles Mwihambi is a doctoral

candidate in the School of Public Service

at Boise State University, ID, USA. His

dissertation research explores the

organizational capacity and effectiveness of

nonprofit organizations in Tanzania.

Email: yessecharles@boisestate.edu

Sanghee Park is an associate professor

in the School of Public Service, Boise

State University, ID, USA. Her research

focuses on public management, public

sector governance/politics, representative

bureaucracy, diversity, and social equity.

Email: sangheepark@boisestate.edu

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 82, Iss. 4, pp. 721–732. © 2021 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13440.