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The effects of malapportionment on economic development

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  • Rikhil R Bhavnani
Abstract
Does the unequal formal representation of people in legislatures (“malapportionment”) affect development? Answering this question is critical for assessing the welfare costs of malapportionment. We argue that representation might spur development as the desire for reelection incentivizes legislators to provide for their districts, and as voters hold politicians to account for doing so. Since this is the case, malapportionment might cause unequal development. Using data from India, we show that a 10% increase in representation causes a 0.6% increase in night lights, a frequently used proxy for development. Reapportionment, or the equalization for representation, attenuates this effect. Consistent with the theory, the effect of representation is larger in districts with legislators and voters that are able to hold the executive to account.

Suggested Citation

  • Rikhil R Bhavnani, 2021. "The effects of malapportionment on economic development," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0259150
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259150
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Timothy Besley & Robin Burgess, 2002. "The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness: Theory and Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1415-1451.
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    4. Martina Björkman & Jakob Svensson, 2009. "Power to the People: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment on Community-Based Monitoring in Uganda," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 735-769.
    5. Bhavnani, Rikhil R., 2018. "The Effects of Malapportionment on Cabinet Inclusion: Subnational Evidence from India," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(1), pages 69-89, January.
    6. Sebastian Galiani & Iván Torre & Gustavo Torrens, 2016. "Fiscal Federalism and Legislative Malapportionment: Causal Evidence from Independent but Related Natural Experiments," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 133-159, March.
    7. Samuels, David & Snyder, Richard, 2001. "The Value of a Vote: Malapportionment in Comparative Perspective," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(4), pages 651-671, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kukreja, Rolly, 2024. "Does representation affect trust in political institutions?: Evidence from redistricting in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).

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