Women's political leadership and economic empowerment: Evidence from public works in India

Klaus Deininger, Hari K Nagarajan and Sudhir Singh

Journal of Comparative Economics, 2020, vol. 48, issue 2, 277-291

Abstract: Despite recent advances, women trail men in political participation, especially in developing countries where the long-term economic benefits from empowering women politically have not been well-researched. We use data from 163 villages of 12 main Indian states to explore whether requiring that village leadership positions be held by women (political reservation) affected uptake of economic opportunities via the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Reservation triggered increases in women's demand for work, program participation, and access to financial services that were sustained beyond the period of female political leadership. Enhanced female participation in program oversight, civic engagement, and electoral participation are plausible channels for such effects and political and economic empowerment seem to be complementary.

Keywords: Political reservation; Female; NREGS; Job card; Gender; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A10 D63 O1 O2 P16 P48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:48:y:2020:i:2:p:277-291

DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2019.12.003

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