Health and the Political Agency of Women
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 6,
no. 2, May 2014
(pp. 164-97)
Abstract
We investigate whether women's political representation in state legislatures improves public provision of antenatal and childhood health services in the districts from which they are elected, arguing that the costs of poor services in this domain fall disproportionately upon women. Using large representative data samples from India and accounting for potential endogeneity of politician gender and the sample composition of births, we find that a 10 percentage point increase in women's representation results in a 2.1 percentage point reduction in neonatal mortality, and we elucidate mechanisms. Women's political representation may be an underutilized tool for addressing health in developing countries.Citation
Bhalotra, Sonia, and Irma Clots-Figueras. 2014. "Health and the Political Agency of Women." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 6 (2): 164-97. DOI: 10.1257/pol.6.2.164Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- I12 Health Production
- I15 Health and Economic Development
- 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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