Women’s representation and the governance of the commons

The study analyzes how the inclusion of women in community governance bodies affects the management of common resources. It takes advantage of the 2016 reform of Mexico's Agrarian Law, which imposed gender quotas on agrarian committees, to estimate causal effects using a staggered event design. With data from more than a decade (2012–2023), it finds that greater female participation reduces annual deforestation by approximately 6%, without affecting local economic activity. Furthermore, inclusion changes interaction with the state: applications for empowerment programs increase and those for production subsidies decrease, although approval rates fall in communities with more women, highlighting institutional barriers. In summary, the formal inclusion of women transforms the governance of shared resources, but structural obstacles persist.