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Women’s Political Reservation, Early Childhood Development, and Learning in India

Author

Listed:
  • Yuvraj Pathak

    (University of Chicago)

  • Karen Macours

    (PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the long-term impacts of reservation of local political seats for women on children's learning and nutritional outcomes in rural Andhra Pradesh. Using the random rotation of seats reserved for women over different election cycles, and three rounds of a panel dataset, we analyze the impact of exposure to political reservation during critical periods in early childhood. The paper shows that the reservation policy for female leaders had the largest impact on learning outcomes in primary school when children were exposed to reservation in utero and very early in life.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuvraj Pathak & Karen Macours, 2017. "Women’s Political Reservation, Early Childhood Development, and Learning in India," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-01590823, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:hal-01590823
    DOI: 10.1086/692114
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://pjse.hal.science/hal-01590823
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    Cited by:

    1. Deininger,Klaus W. & Jin,Songqing & Nagarajan,Hari Krishnan & Singh,Sudhir K., 2020. "Political Reservation and Female Labor Force Participation in Rural India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9350, The World Bank.
    2. Deininger, Klaus & Nagarajan, Hari K & Singh, Sudhir K, 2020. "Women's political leadership and economic empowerment: Evidence from public works in India," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 277-291.
    3. Ekbrand, Hans & Halleröd, Björn, 2018. "The more gender equity, the less child poverty? A multilevel analysis of malnutrition and health deprivation in 49 low- and middle-income countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 221-230.
    4. Julieta Vera Rueda, 2021. "When fathers are gone: the consequences of paternal absence during the early years," Working Papers halshs-02978563, HAL.
    5. Julieta Vera Rueda, 2021. "When fathers are gone: the consequences of paternal absence during the early years," PSE Working Papers halshs-02978563, HAL.

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