Political Aspirations in India: Evidence from Fertility Limits on Local Leaders

No 9023, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Despite theoretical advances, measurement issues have impeded empirical research on aspirations. We quantify political aspirations in a developing country by estimating individuals' willingness to trade-off family size for political candidacy. Utilizing quasi-experimental variation in legal fertility limits on village council members in India, we find that at least 2.21% of married couples of childbearing age altered their fertility to remain eligible for council membership. This implies that returns to local leadership in low-income democracies are potentially high. Poorer, less educated, and lower-caste families display strong political aspirations, thereby lowering the extent of elite-capture at the local level of governance.

Keywords: fertility limits; political aspirations; Panchayat elections; India; sex ratios (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H75 J13 J16 O11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2015-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-pol
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Journal of Human Resources, 2019, 54 (1), 79-121

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