Data and Code for: Polity size and local government performance: evidence from India

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Veda Narasimhan, NYU- Abu Dhabi; Jeffrey Weaver, University of Southern California

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
.Rhistory	text/plain	26.9 KB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Agra.xls	text/plain	1.6 MB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Aligarh.xls	text/plain	1.3 MB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Ambedkar Nagar.xls	text/plain	3.6 MB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Amethi.xls	text/plain	4.1 MB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Amroha.xls	text/plain	708.4 KB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Auraiya.xls	text/plain	1.2 MB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Ayodhya.xls	text/plain	4 MB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Azamgarh.xls	text/plain	7.2 MB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM
Baghpat.xls	text/plain	187.3 KB	05/09/2024 09:08:AM

Project Description

Summary: Developing countries have increasingly decentralized power to local governments. This paper studies the implications of a central element of decentralization -- polity size -- using population-based discontinuities that determine local government boundaries for over 100,000 Indian villages. Over the short and long-run, individuals allocated into local governments with smaller populations have better access to public goods. We provide suggestive evidence that these results are related to heightened civic engagement and stronger political incentives, but not to other mechanisms such as elite capture.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
      H41 Public Goods
      H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
      O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
      P43 Other Economic Systems: Public Economics; Financial Economics

Geographic Coverage: Uttar Pradesh, India

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2024-10-14]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.