Identities and public policies: Unexpected effects of political reservations for women in India

Guilhem Cassan and Lore Vandewalle

World Development, 2021, vol. 143, issue C

Abstract: Identity is an important determinant of economic behavior. While the existing literature focuses on one identity dimension at a time, we show that the multiplicity of identity dimensions matters for economic behavior and that neglecting it may lead policymakers to overlook important, unexpected effects of economic policies. We exploit the randomized nature of political reservations for women in India to show that a policy designed along one identity dimension (gender) alters the distribution of the benefits of this policy along another one (caste). We propose differences in gender norms across caste groups as a mechanism.

Keywords: Intersectionality; Identity economics; Social norms; Gender; Quotas; Affirmative action (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 J15 J16 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:143:y:2021:i:c:s0305750x21000206

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105408

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