Bibliography
In the last few years, we have witnessed a growing interest in youth political representation. Here we present an overview of publications - if we are missing an article or a book that you would like to see listed, please let us know!
Books
Kolodziejczyk, K. (2025). Breaking the Cycle of Political Alienation.
The Impact of Youth Representation on Democratic Engagement. Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-84463-8
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2022). Youth without Representation. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11459940
Reviews, methodological and conceptual works
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2023). Age Inequalities in Political Representation: A Review Article. Government and Opposition, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2023.11
Sundström, A., & Stockemer, D. (2021). Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Explaining Youths’ Relative Absence in Legislatures. PS: Political Science & Politics, 54(2), 195–201. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096520000906
Wigginton, M. J. (2025). Why Does a Legislator’s Age Matter? Re-Conceptualising Youth Representation. Representation, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2025.2543413
On descriptive youth representation in (supra)national parliaments
Freire, André; Pedrazzani, Andrea; Tsatsanis, Emmanouil; Coller, Xavier & Segatti, Paolo (2021) Age and Descriptive Representation in Southern Europe: The Impact of the Great Recession on National Parliaments, South European Society and Politics, 26:2, 271-301, DOI: 10.1080/13608746.2022.2026336
Inter Parliamentary Union. (2014). Youth participation in national parliaments. https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2016-07/youth-participation-in-national-parliaments-0
Inter Parliamentary Union. (2021). Youth participation in national parliaments. Geneva. https://www.ipu.org/youth2021
Joshi, D. K. (2013). The representation of younger age cohorts in Asian parliaments: Do electoral systems make a difference? Representation, 49(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2013.775960
Joshi, D. K. (2015). The Inclusion of Excluded Majorities in South Asian Parliaments: Women, Youth, and the Working Class. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 50(2), 223-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909614521414
Kurz, K. R., & Ettensperger, F. (2023). Exploring the Conditions for Youth Representation: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Party Parliamentary Groups. European Political Science. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-023-00460-7
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2018). Age representation in parliaments: Can institutions pave the way for the young? European Political Science Review, 10(3), 467–490. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773918000048
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2019). Young deputies in the European Parliament: a starkly underrepresented age group. Acta Politica, 54(1), 124–144. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-018-0078-0
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2022). Youth without Representation. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11459940
On descriptive youth representation in national cabinets
Stockemer, D., & Kolodziejczyk, K. (2024). Introducing the World Age Representation in Cabinet (WARC) Dataset. Representation, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2024.2409636.
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2021). Rule by the elderly: the absence of youth in cabinets of France, Germany and the UK. French Politics, 19(4), 440–449. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41253-021-00158-6
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2022). Youth without Representation. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11459940
On descriptive youth representation in regional or local parliaments/cabinets
Anlar, B. (2024)Time, money, and support: Exploring young adult representation in state legislatures, Electoral Studies, Vol. 91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102845
Chou,Mark; Pruitt, Lesley & Dean, Luke (2021) Too young to run? Young political candidates and the 2020 Victorian local government elections, Australian Journal of Political Science, 56:4, 428-444, DOI: 10.1080/10361146.2021.1998345
Sipinen, J., Belschner, J., & Anlar, B. (2024). Age gaps in political representation: Comparing local and national elections. Electoral Studies, 88, 102763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102763
On the link between descriptive and substantive representation:
Bailer, S., Breunig, C., Giger, N., & Wüst, A. M. (2022). The Diminishing Value of Representing the Disadvantaged: Between Group Representation and Individual Career Paths. British Journal of Political Science, 52(2), 535–552. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123420000642
Curry, James M. and Matthew R. Haydon. (2018). Lawmaker Age, Issue Salience, and Senior Representation in Congress. American Politics Research 46(4):567–595. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X18754557
Debus, M., Himmelrath, N. (2022) Advocates of climate action? The age of members of parliament and their activity in legislative debates on climate change. Clim Action 1, 16 https://doi.org/10.1007/s44168-022-00017-2
Hájek, Lukáš (2019) Effects of age and tenure on MPs’ legislative behaviour in the Czech Republic, The Journal of Legislative Studies, 25:4, 553-575, DOI: 10.1080/13572334.2019.1697049
Helliesen, Mari S. (2022): Unequal Representation of Women and Youth on Climate Policy Issues, Representation, https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2022.2133001
Tam, W. (2022). Does the age of legislators matter to their representational behavior? Evidence from Hong Kong. Japanese Journal of Political Science, 23(3), 270-282. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109922000159
On Candidates, Candidate Selection and Election: the Supply Side
Belschner, J. (2022). Youth Advantage Versus Gender Penalty: Selecting and Electing Young Candidates. Political Research Quarterly, 106591292110725. https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129211072559
Belschner, J. (2024). Too young to win? Exploring the sources of age-related electoral disadvantage. Electoral Studies, 88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102748
Deiss-Helbig, E. (2021). Do different candidate selection methods produce different types of candidates? An analysis of the German case. In G. Sandri & A. Seddone (Eds.), Routledge studies on political parties and party systems. New paths for selecting political elites: Investigating the impact of inclusive candidate and party leader selection methods (pp. 180–203). Routledge.
Hooghe, M., Stolle, D., & Stouthuysen, P. (2004). Head Start in Politics: The Recruitment Function of Youth Organizations of Political Parties in Belgium (Flanders). Party Politics, 10(2), 193–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068804040503
Stockemer, D.; Gallant, K. & Tolley, E. (2024). Limited supply: Youth underrepresentation in the Canadian House of Commons. Electoral Studies, 88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102747
On voter evaluations of age
Eshima, S., & Smith, D. M. (2022). Just a Number? Voter Evaluations of Age in Candidate-Choice Experiments. The Journal of Politics, 84(3), 1856–1861. https://doi.org/10.1086/719005
Dobbs, K.L. (2020). Youth quotas and “Jurassic Park” politicians: age as a heuristic for vote choice in Tunisia’s new democracy. Democratization, 27:6, 990-1005. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2020.1763312
Kurz, K.R.; Wurthmann, L.C. & Gross, M. (2025) The Influence of Age on Citizens’ Preferences for Age‐Related Descriptive Representation. Politics & Governance Vol. 13, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.9251
McClean, C.T., Ono, Y. (2024). Too Young to Run? Voter Evaluations of the Age of Candidates. Polit Behav. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-024-09920-2
Roberts, D.C., Wolak, J. (2023). Do Voters Care about the Age of their Elected Representatives?. Polit Behav 45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-022-09802-5
On the effects of institutions (e.g. quotas, electoral systems, age requirements…)
Belschner, J., & Garcia de Paredes, M. (2021). Hierarchies of Representation: The Re-distributive Effects of Gender and Youth Quotas. Representation, 57(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2020.1778510
Joshi DK (2013). The Representation of Younger Age Cohorts in Asian Parliaments: Do Electoral Systems Make a Difference? Representation 49(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2013.775960
Joshi, D. K. (2015). The Inclusion of Excluded Majorities in South Asian Parliaments: Women, Youth, and the Working Class. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 50(2), 223-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909614521414
Krook, M. L., & Nugent, M. K. (2018). Not Too Young to Run? Age requirements and young people in elected office. Advance online publication. Intergenerational Justice Review, Vol 4, No 2 https://doi.org/10.24357/igjr.4.2.702
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2022). Quotas, the Electoral System Type and the Election of Young Women. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 28(4), 1025–1045. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxaa006
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2022). Youth without Representation. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11459940
Tremmel, J., Mason, A., Godli, P. H., & Dimitrijoski, I. (2015). Youth Quotas and other Efficient Forms of Youth Participation in Ageing Societies. Springer International Publishing. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-13431-4
On the effects of party characteristics
Jalali, C., Silva, P. & Costa, E. They (don’t) really care about us: youth representation in Portuguese political parties. Eur Polit Sci (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-025-00548-2
Kurz, K. R., & Ettensperger, F. (2023). Exploring the Conditions for Youth Representation: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Party Parliamentary Groups. European Political Science. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-023-00460-7
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2022). Youth without Representation. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11459940
Sundström, A., & Stockemer, D. (2018). Youth representation in the European Parliament: The limited effect of political party characteristics. Intergenerational Justice Review, Vol 4, No 2. https://doi.org/10.24357/igjr.4.2.696
On the effects of external shocks and similar things (e.g. economy)
Freire, André; Pedrazzani, Andrea; Tsatsanis, Emmanouil; Coller, Xavier & Segatti, Paolo (2021) Age and Descriptive Representation in Southern Europe: The Impact of the Great Recession on National Parliaments, South European Society and Politics, 26:2, 271-301, DOI: 10.1080/13608746.2022.2026336
On the intersection of youth & gender
Belschner, J., & Garcia de Paredes, M. (2021). Hierarchies of Representation: The Re-distributive Effects of Gender and Youth Quotas. Representation, 57(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2020.1778510
Belschner, J. (2022). Youth Advantage Versus Gender Penalty: Selecting and Electing Young Candidates. Political Research Quarterly, 106591292110725. https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129211072559
Erikson J and Josefsson C (2021). Equal Playing Field? On the Intersection between Gender and Being Young in the Swedish Parliament. Politics, Groups, and Identities 9(1), 81–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2018.1564055
Joshi, D. K., & Och, M. (2021). Early birds, short tenures, and the double squeeze: how gender and age intersect with parliamentary representation. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 9(3), 629–645. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2019.1629319
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2022). Quotas, the Electoral System Type and the Election of Young Women. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 28(4), 1025–1045. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxaa006
Youth Representation as the X-Variable
(so far only how it influences turnout)
Angelucci, D., Carrieri, L., & Improta, M. (2024). ‘No Participation Without Representation’: The Impact of Descriptive and Substantive Representation on the Age-Related Turnout Gap. Political Studies, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217241229316
Castanho Silva, Bruno (2024). No votes for old men: Leaders' age and youth turnout in comparative perspective. EJPR 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12694
Kolodziejczyk, K. (2025). Breaking the Cycle of Political Alienation.
The Impact of Youth Representation on Democratic Engagement. Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-84463-8
Pomante, M. J., & Schraufnagel, S. (2015). Candidate Age and Youth Voter Turnout. American Politics Research, 43(3), 479-503. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X14554829
Dataset Papers
Kurz, K.R. & Ettensperger, F. (2023): Introducing a New Dataset: Age Representation in Parliaments on the Party-level, In: Statistics, Politics and Policy, online first, https://doi.org/10.1515/spp-2023-0014.
Stockemer, D., & Kolodziejczyk, K. (2024). Introducing the World Age Representation in Cabinet (WARC) Dataset. Representation, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2024.2409636.
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2022). Introducing the Worldwide Age Representation in Parliaments (WARP) data set. Social Science Quarterly, 103(7), 1765–1774. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13221
Publicly available Working Papers
Baskaran, T.; Hessami, Z. and Schirner S. (2022) Can Young Politicians Influence Policy in a Gerontocracy? Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/j7t55kpvbd9wioj/Baskaran_Hessami_Schirner_Young_Politicians_2022.pdf?dl=0
Belschner, J.; Aars, J. & Saglie, J. (2023): (How) Does Enfranchisement Increase Representation? Voting Age Reforms and the Recruitment of Young Politicians. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4540073 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4540073
Bonica, A. & Grumbach, J. (2024): Old Money: Campaign Finance and Gerontocracy in the United States. https://www.dropbox.com/s/tui5dkbnnfu7if2/bonica_grumbach_old_money.pdf?raw=1
Borghetto, E.; Cancela, J.; Lisi, M.; Navarro, J. (2022). Who cares for young people? An analysis of parliamentary questions in Italy and France. Democracy and its enemies - SISP 35th Annual Conference, Sep 2022, Rome Sapienza Universita di Roma, Italy. https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04124858/