TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Bhalotra, Sonia R.
AU  - Clots-Figueras, Irma
        TI  - Health and the Political Agency of Women
        PY  - 2011/Dec/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 6216
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp6216
        AB  - We investigate whether politician gender influences policy outcomes in India. We focus upon antenatal and postnatal public health provision since the costs of poor services in this domain are disproportionately borne by women. Accounting for potential endogeneity of politician gender and the sample composition of births, we find that a one standard deviation increase in women's political representation results in a 1.5 percentage point reduction in neonatal mortality. Women politicians are more likely to build public health facilities and encourage antenatal care, institutional delivery and immunization. The results are topical given that a bill proposing quotas for women in state assemblies is currently pending in the Indian Parliament.
        KW  - political identity
KW  - gender
KW  - mortality
KW  - health
KW  - social preferences
KW  - India
        ER  -