Persuasion and gender: experimental evidence from two political campaigns

We investigate differential responses by gender to competitive persuasion in political campaigns. We implemented a survey and a field experiment during two mayoral elections in Italy. Eligible voters were exposed to a positive or negative campaign by an opponent. The survey experiment used on-line videos and slogans. The field experiment used door-to-door canvassing. In both experiments, gender differences emerge. Females vote more for the opponent and less for the incumbent when exposed to positive-as opposed to negative-campaigning. Males do the opposite. These differences cannot be explained by gender identification, ideology, or other voters' observable attributes. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11127-024-01192-y.