Sex Scandal, Gender, and Political Participation: Results from A Survey Experiment in China

Sex scandals have persisted in politics throughout human history. How do these scandals affect individuals' willingness to work for the government? We argue that, although the public disclosure of holding corrupt officials accountable for sexual misconduct is intended to demonstrate government responsiveness, it may create unintended backfire effects. By revealing the existence of sexual misconduct within the government, such disclosures may (1) deter some individuals from pursuing government employment due to perceived increased risks of encountering sexual misconduct, and (2) attract lower-quality candidates to the pool for entry-level government positions by priming them to perceive potential rent-seeking opportunities. We conducted an online survey experiment in China, where subjects were randomly assigned to a control group or a treatment group. The treatment group was exposed to a vignette describing a sex scandal during China's anti-corruption campaign. The results show that, while exposure to sex scandals does not affect individuals' overall willingness to work for the government, among non-cadre subjects—who have lower levels of political ambition and knowledge—the treatment increases their willingness to pursue government employment. Our findings suggest that sex scandals might exacerbate the existing gender disparity in political participation in China.