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Political Agency and Public Health Care: Evidence from India

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  • Joan Costa-i-Font
  • Divya Parmar

Abstract

A growing literature studies the effect of enhancing the agency relationship between political incumbents and constituents on the use of health care, and specifically maternal and preventive care services. We examine the development of institutions of self-governance in India, and specifically the 2005 reform—the National Rural Health Mission that introduced village health and sanitation committees—to study the effects of the strengthening of the political agency on collective health care decision-making in rural areas. We examine maternal and preventative child health care use, before and after the introduction of village health and sanitation committees. Our results suggest that the introduction of village health and sanitation committees increases access to several maternal health care and some but not all immunisation services. The effect size is larger in larger villages and those closer to district headquarters. Part of the effect is driven by an increase in the utilization of the public healthcare network.

Suggested Citation

  • Joan Costa-i-Font & Divya Parmar, 2017. "Political Agency and Public Health Care: Evidence from India," CESifo Working Paper Series 6640, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6640
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Betancourt, Roger & Gleason, Suzanne, 2000. "The Allocation of Publicly-Provided Goods to Rural Households in India: On Some Consequences of Caste, Religion and Democracy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2169-2182, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    decentralization; direct democracy; India; immunization; maternal healthcare; public health care; preventative health care;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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