diff --git a/psycopg/adapter_list.c b/psycopg/adapter_list.c
index d29512f7..29ef1167 100644
--- a/psycopg/adapter_list.c
+++ b/psycopg/adapter_list.c
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ list_quote(listObject *self)
     
     /* empty arrays are converted to NULLs (still searching for a way to
        insert an empty array in postgresql */
-    if (len == 0) return PyString_FromString("{}");
+    if (len == 0) return PyString_FromString("'{}'");
     
     tmp = PyTuple_New(len);