23 September 2011: Election Outcomes and the Poor: Evidence from the Consumption of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in India

Sharad Tandon
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Abstract:
Using Indian parliamentary elections in 1998 and 1999, this paper investigates whether election outcomes affect consumption of households belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/ST's), the poorest Indian households that constitute nearly a quarter of the total population. Using arguably exogenous variation in the party affiliation of successful candidates introduced by close election outcomes, this paper finds that expenditure of households belonging to SC/ST's significantly increased in regions where candidates sympathetic to the groups were successful. These findings demonstrate that election outcomes can significantly impact a large number of the poorest households.

Date: September 23, 2011
Time: 11:30 A.M.

Venue:
Seminar Room 2, New Building
Indian Statistical Institute Delhi Centre,
7, S. J. S. Sansanwal Marg,
New Delhi-110016 (INDIA)

Location:

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