Economics Research Seminar – Dr Barbara Boelmann
Date: Wednesday 12 March 2025 | Time: 13:30 to 14:30
Location: Newcastle University Business School (NUBS), Room 4.23
- Registration ending soon
The Economics research group welcomes Dr Barbara Boelmann.
She will present her work, entitled "Missing Men and Women’s Fight for the Vote (with Carola Stapper)."
About the speaker
Dr Barbara Boelmann is an applied labour economist. She studies structural factors behind labour market inequalities, with a focus on gender. She is:
- a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cologne
- a YEP Fellow of ECONtribute
- a researcher at the Research Data Centre Ruhr of the RWI
She obtained her PhD from University College London and CReAM in 2022.
Research abstract
This paper investigates whether power vacuums lead to collective action by marginalised groups. Specifically, we examine whether the large number of men absent during World War I in Germany led to an increase in the suffragette movement fighting for women's voting rights.
We exploit exogenous variation in regional male drafting probabilities and link it to the presence of local suffragette clubs. Our results suggest that women were more likely to keep local suffragette clubs open in regions with higher male absences.
Additionally, we find that male absences led to increased female political participation once women gained voting rights. Using employment data by industry and gender, we also show that the absence of men contributed to the growing economic role of women.