Brulé Publishes Research Exploring Impact of Quotas on Promoting Social Change
Rachel Brulé, Assistant Professor of Global Development Policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, published a working paper for the Global Development Policy Center‘s (GDP Center) Human Capital Initiative (HCI) exploring the impact of quotas in dismantling social hierarchy.
Brulé coauthored the working paper, titled “Do Quotas In Two Dimensions Improve Social Equality? Intersocial Representation and Group Relations,” with Aliz Tóth, a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. In their piece, the two investigate the counterproductive consequences quotas can have and ask whether two-dimensional quotas improve support for inter-group relationships relative to one-dimensional mandates. Using India as a case study, they analyze the causal effect of the world’s largest quota system for women, disadvantaged ethnicities, and women from disadvantaged ethnicities. The core implication of Brulé and Tóth’s findings is to advocate for policies that place multiple marginalized groups at the center, leveraging the fact that those who bear the brunt of interlocking forms of oppression have the greatest capacity to catalyze social transformation that benefits everyone.
The full paper can be read on the Global Development Policy Center’s (GDP Center) website.
Rachel Brulé is an Assistant Professor of Global Development Policy at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and core faculty of the Global Development Policy Center’s Human Capital Initiative. Her research interests are broadly in comparative politics, international development, political economy, and gender, with a geographical focus on South Asia. Read more about Professor Brulé on her faculty profile.