Voices of Women: The Impact of Women's Political Reservations on Female Child Mortality in India

• Main Author: Sharma, Kohsheen
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2018
• Subjects: Panchayati raj; 73rd Amendment; reservations; female child mortality; women's political participation; India; Behavioral Economics; Comparative Politics; Gender and Sexuality; Growth and Development; International and Area Studies; International Economics; International Relations; Political Science
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1134; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2137&context=scripps_theses

This paper uses state-level variation in the implementation of the 73rd amendment in India to observe the relationship between political reservations for women in local government and female child mortality. Nationally, reservations for women are not associated with a statistically significant difference in female child mortality. However, a state by state analysis shows variations in the level of impact of reservations on the topic of female child mortality. This paper examines the constraints on female representatives and their level of effectiveness in executing pro-female policies given the political and social environment. The two case studies on Kerala and Haryana explore women office holder’s abilities to administer public goods that favor women and children and the subsequent impact on female child mortality.