Female Political Participation and Health in India

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Abstract
This article uses a unique data set to investigate the determinants of political participation in India. In particular, the data from the 1981 census of India are coupled with electoral returns from 1979-80 to examine the factors influencing participation of both genders. Differential impact is explored empirically. Many of the same influences found to be important in developed countries are relevant in India, including income, education, and constituency culture. In addition, labor force participation and familial obligations have an effect, though in the opposite direction from that predicted in the United States. A lack of government-provided resources devoted to health and education also influences participation. A second investigation uses the same census data with 1977-78 election returns to estimate government response to female political participation in India. Regarding the causes of child mortality, no effect of female participation on health outcomes was found. This may result from the aggregation necessary to match census districts and voting constituencies.

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