Are Female Leaders Good for Education? Evidence from India
- (pp. 212-44)
Abstract
This paper shows that the gender of politicians affects the educational levels of individuals who grow up in the districts where these politicians are elected. A unique dataset collected on politicians in India is matched with individual data by cohort and district of residence. The political data allow the identification of close elections between women and men, which yield quasi-experimental election outcomes used to estimate the causal effect of the gender of politicians. Increasing female political representation increases the probability that an individual will attain primary education in urban areas, but not in rural areas, and not in the sample as a whole. (JEL D72, I20, J16, 015, 017)Citation
Clots-Figueras, Irma. 2012. "Are Female Leaders Good for Education? Evidence from India." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 4 (1): 212-44. DOI: 10.1257/app.4.1.212Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- I20 Education and Research Institutions: General
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
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