Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/101852 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 8366
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Primary education in India is a development question of a unique magnitude, and the delivery of education by Indian states is often suspected to be marred by political haggling and corruption. Using rich administrative school-level panel data across Indian states, we test for electoral cycles in the provision of school resources. The effects are identified using staggered timing of state elections. We find that rulers allocate more primary school resources in the years preceding and following elections, but there is only weak evidence that resources are targeted to marginal constituencies. The resources affected are visible ones, namely free school uniforms, classrooms, toilets, ramps for the disabled and medical inspections. We also show that around election years, teachers spend more time on "non-teaching" activities. The political cycles are not inevitable, as they are present only in districts characterised by low voter turnout and low female literacy. Finally, we show that electoral cycles affect human capital accumulation: The phase of the electoral cycle in which pupils begin their primary schooling, affects their learning outcomes.
Subjects: 
institutions
school resources
political cycle
public goods
voter turnout
India
JEL: 
H75
I25
O15
P16
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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