Political selection and the quality of government: evidence from South India

Besley, Timothy, Pande, Rohini and Rao, Vijayendra (2005) Political selection and the quality of government: evidence from South India. PEPP/8. Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

This paper uses household data from India to examine the economic and social status of village politicians, and how individual and village characteristics affect politician behavior while in office. Education increases the chances of selection to public o±ce and reduces the odds that a politician uses political power opportunistically. In contrast, land ownership and political connections enable selection but do not affect politician opportunism. At the village level, changes in the identity of the politically dominant group alters the group allocation of resources but not politician opportunism. Improved information °ows in the village, however, reduce opportunism and improve resource allocation.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2005 The Authors
Library of Congress subject classification:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General) J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia
Sets:	Collections > Economists Online Departments > Economics Research centres and groups > Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD)
Identification Number:	PEPP/8
Date Deposited:	10 Mar 2008 11:32
URL:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/3766/

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