Age gaps in political representation: Comparing local and national elections

This article compares the relationship between candidate age and political selection on the local and national level of politics. On which level are young candidates more likely to be selected by parties and elected by voters? Using register data from Finland, covering over 100,000 candidates from 2011 to 2021, we test two competing hypotheses: the “stepping stone” hypothesis relating to the traditional pipeline theory of political representation, and the “parachute” hypothesis, which represents a non-hierarchical approach to political careers. Our findings provide slightly more support for the latter hypothesis. While national elections are more competitive, comparatively more young candidates are running in these contests. We also find that the electoral disadvantage for young candidates is slightly larger in municipal than in national elections. Based on election survey data, we show that is this due to age affinity effects within the electorate, where senior voters’ candidate preferences have greater weight.