Gender Differences in Willingness to Pay for Urban Public Services

Abstract

The “vote” urban residents cast when they make decisions about public services has implications for service delivery in local government. We utilize probability data from one of the nation’s largest municipalities to explore potential gender disparities in willingness to pay for local public services: whether men and women differ in their general orientation toward paying for services; whether any gender gaps are exacerbated in particular service areas; and whether any gender disparities have implications for community governance. Men and women report strong predisposition to paying generally, although glaring gender gaps exist that are both theoretically and practically insightful.