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Female legislators and forest conservation in India

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  • Bandyopadhyay, Sutirtha
  • Dutta, Pranabes Probeshika
  • Hari, Naveen
  • Maity, Bipasha

Abstract

Forest conservation is a key strategy for addressing climate change. However, the role of women’s political representation in shaping conservation outcomes remains understudied. This paper examines the causal impact of female legislators on forest cover in India, leveraging a regression discontinuity design based on close mixed-gender electoral races. We find that electing a female legislator increases annual forest cover growth by 6 percentage points, but this effect is concentrated in constituencies reserved for candidates from historically marginalized groups. When we examine forest cover growth over the entire electoral cycle, the positive impact of female legislators is found for all constituencies, but this effect continues to be driven by constituencies reserved for historically disadvantaged communities. These findings suggest that women in political office can significantly influence environmental outcomes, particularly when institutional structures promote the inclusion of underrepresented groups. We argue that differences in environmental preferences and constraints by legislator identity may explain these effects. Our results underscore the importance of legislator identity in shaping environmental governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Bandyopadhyay, Sutirtha & Dutta, Pranabes Probeshika & Hari, Naveen & Maity, Bipasha, 2026. "Female legislators and forest conservation in India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:241:y:2026:i:c:s0167268125004925
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107375
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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