Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/283780 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2023/84
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
We investigate the impact of the political representation of minority groups on the incidence of ethnic conflict in India. We code data on Hindu-Muslim violence and Muslim political representation in India and leverage quasi-random variation in legislator religion generated by the results of close elections. We find that the presence of Muslim legislators results in a large and significant decline in Hindu-Muslim conflict. The average result is driven by richer states and those with greater police strength. Our results suggest that the political empowerment of minority communities can contribute to curbing civil conflict.
Subjects: 
conflict
violence
religion
political representation
police
close elections
JEL: 
D72
D74
J15
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9267-392-5
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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