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Seeing is believing- can increasing the number of female leaders reduce sex selection in rural India?

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  • Kalsi, Priti

Abstract

Cultural values regarding gender roles encourage gender discrimination and the practice of sex selection. Increasing political and work force participation of women challenges such norms. Exploiting the implementation of an Indian law that required one-third of local political seats to be reserved for women, I investigate the impact of female leadership on sex selection in rural India. I find an increase in the survival of higher birth order girls if political seats at the local level have been reserved for women. I argue that the likely underlying mechanism is a change in beliefs due to exposure to female leaders.

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  • Kalsi, Priti, 2017. "Seeing is believing- can increasing the number of female leaders reduce sex selection in rural India?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 1-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:126:y:2017:i:c:p:1-18
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2016.12.002
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yao, Yang & You, Wuyue, 2018. "Women’s political participation and gender gaps of education in China: 1950–1990," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 220-237.
    3. Chen, Yen-Chien & Fan, Elliott & Ho, Yu-Hsin & Lee, Matthew Yi-Hsiu & Liu, Jin-Tan, 2023. "How Does Gender Quota Shape Gender Attitudes?," IZA Discussion Papers 16331, IZA Network @ LISER.
    4. Priyanka, Sadia, 2020. "Do female politicians matter for female labor market outcomes? Evidence from state legislative elections in India," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Bramucci, Francesca & Boudet, Ana Maria Munoz & Viollaz, Mariana, 2025. "Promoting Women’s Leadership: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What’s Missing," IZA Discussion Papers 18221, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Pushkar Maitra & Ananta Neelim, 2024. "Discrimination in Developing Countries," Monash Economics Working Papers 2024-03, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    7. Anandi Mani & Emma Riley, 2019. "Social networks, role models, peer effects, and aspirations," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-120, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Fletcher, Erin K. & Pande, Rohini & Moore, Charity Troyer, 2019. "Women and Work in India: Descriptive Evidence and a Review of Potential Policies," India Policy Forum, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 15(1), pages 149-216.
    9. Deininger,Klaus W. & Jin,Songqing & Nagarajan,Hari Krishnan & Singh,Sudhir K., 2020. "Political Reservation and Female Labor Force Participation in Rural India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9350, The World Bank.
    10. Chen, Yen-Chien & Fan, Elliott & Ho, Yu-Hsin & Lee, Matthew Yi-Hsiu & Liu, Jin-Tan, 2025. "The impact of female political leadership on gender attitudes: Evidence from Taiwan’s local councils," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    11. Bhalotra, Sonia & Clots-Figueras, Irma & Iyer, Lakshmi, 2021. "Religion and abortion: The role of politician identity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    12. Brown, Ryan & Mansour, Hani & O'Connell, Stephen D. & Reeves, James, 2019. "Gender Differences in Political Career Progression: Evidence from U.S. Elections," IZA Discussion Papers 12569, IZA Network @ LISER.
    13. Bhalotra, Sonia & Clots-Figueras, Irma & Iyer, Lakshmi, 2021. "Religion and abortion: The role of politician identity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    14. Chatterjee, Jagori & Merfeld, Joshua D., 2021. "Protecting girls from droughts with social safety nets," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    15. Deininger, Klaus & Nagarajan, Hari K & Singh, Sudhir K, 2020. "Women's political leadership and economic empowerment: Evidence from public works in India," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 277-291.
    16. Dey, Subhasish & Ghosal, Tanisha, 2021. "Can Conditional Cash Transfer Defer Child Marriage? Impact of Kanyashree Prakalpa in West Bengal, India," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1333, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    17. Brown, Ryan & Mansour, Hani & O’Connell, Stephen D. & Reeves, James, 2025. "Gender differences in political career progression," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    18. Carolina Castilla, 2017. "Political role models, child marriage, and women's autonomy over marriage in India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-121, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    19. Shammama, Obaida & Brazys, Samuel, 2024. "Representation matters? Female legislators and women’s health in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    20. Carolina Castilla, 2017. "Political role models, child marriage, and women’s autonomy over marriage in India," WIDER Working Paper Series 121, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    21. Stephen D. O'Connell, 2020. "Can Quotas Increase the Supply of Candidates for Higher-Level Positions? Evidence from Local Government in India," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(1), pages 65-78, March.
    22. Liu, Chong & Lu, Wenyi & Yuan, Ye, 2025. "The quiet revolution: Send-down movement and female empowerment in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    23. Mevlude Akbulut-Yuksel & Daniel Rosenblum, 2023. "Estimating the Effects of Expanding Ultrasound Use on Sex Selection in India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(4), pages 516-532, April.
    24. Maitra, Pushkar & Rosenblum, Daniel, 2022. "Upstream effects of female political reservations," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General

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