Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/58578 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 6216
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We investigate whether politician gender influences policy outcomes in India. We focus upon antenatal and postnatal public health provision since the costs of poor services in this domain are disproportionately borne by women. Accounting for potential endogeneity of politician gender and the sample composition of births, we find that a one standard deviation increase in women's political representation results in a 1.5 percentage point reduction in neonatal mortality. Women politicians are more likely to build public health facilities and encourage antenatal care, institutional delivery and immunization. The results are topical given that a bill proposing quotas for women in state assemblies is currently pending in the Indian Parliament.
Subjects: 
political identity
gender
mortality
health
social preferences
India
JEL: 
H41
I18
O15
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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