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Does Political Reservation for Minorities Affect Child Labor? Evidence from India

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  • Elizabeth Kaletski

    (University of Connecticut)

  • Nishith Prakash

    (University of Connecticut)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between elected minority representatives, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and health worker visits in rural India. We estimate the effect of minority representation on the frequency of visits to villages by health workers by exploiting the state variation in the share of seats reserved for the two groups in state legislative assemblies mandated by the Constitution of India. Using data from state and village level surveys on fifteen major Indian states, we find that Schedule Tribe representatives increase the frequency of visits by both doctors and mobile medical units. On the other hand, Scheduled Caste representatives have a tendency to decrease the frequency of visits by mobile medical units. Potential explanations for the differential impact of SC and ST representatives are also explored, including geographic isolation, support for the Congress Party, and relative population shares.

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  • Elizabeth Kaletski & Nishith Prakash, 2014. "Does Political Reservation for Minorities Affect Child Labor? Evidence from India," Working papers 2014-19, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:2014-19
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Simone Schotte & Rachel M. Gisselquist & Tharcisio Leone, 2023. "Does affirmative action address ethnic inequality?: A systematic review of the literature," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-14, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Prakash, Nishith, 2008. "Improving the Labor Market Outcomes of Minorities: The Role of Employment Quota," MPRA Paper 11010, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Kaletski, Elizabeth & Prakash, Nishith, 2016. "Does Political Reservation for Minorities Affect Child Labor? Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 50-69.
    4. Elizabeth Kaletski & Nishith Prakash, 2017. "Can Elected Minority Representatives Affect Health Worker Visits? Evidence from India," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 67-102, February.
    5. Mariella Sica, 2012. "Politics and Religion in India: Minorities," Transition Studies Review, Springer;Central Eastern European University Network (CEEUN), vol. 19(1), pages 131-138, September.
    6. 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.
    7. Kshitij Chaudhary, 2015. "The effect of political decentralisation and affirmative action on Multidimensional Poverty Index: evidence from Indian States," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 17(1), pages 27-49, April.
    8. Elizabeth Kaletski & Nishith Prakash, 2016. "Affirmative action policy in developing countries: Lessons learned and a way forward," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-52, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Chatterjee, Somdeep & Pal, Debdatta, 2021. "Is there political elite capture in access to energy sources? Evidence from Indian households," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    10. Ao, Chon-Kit & Chatterjee, Somdeep, 2018. "The Effects of Political Reservations on Credit Access and Borrowing Composition: New Evidence from India," GLO Discussion Paper Series 227, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Sugata Bag & Suman Seth & Barnali Basak, 2023. "Heterogeneous effect of the Indian affirmative action: The role of caste certificates," Working papers 339, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Affirmative action; Minorities; Health; Public goods provision; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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