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When criminality begets crime: the role of elected politicians in India

Author

Listed:
  • Nishith Prakash
  • Soham Sahoo
  • Deepak Saraswat
  • Reetika Sindhi

Abstract

This article examines the effect of electing criminally accused politicians on crime in India, considering the severity of their alleged offenses. Employing an instrumental variable approach that exploits the quasi-random variation in outcomes of close elections between candidates with and without criminal accusations, we find that a standard deviation (SD) increase in the share of criminally accused leaders in institutionally weaker states leads to a 0.05 SD rise in yearly reported crimes. Leaders accused of serious crimes have a more pronounced effect on crime outcomes, including crimes against women. Crucially, leaders accused of serious crimes also exert a negative influence on female labor force participation, underlining their detrimental impact on socioeconomic welfare. Our findings highlight the significance of considering the nature and severity of criminal accusations when evaluating the impact of criminally accused politicians on crime and society.

Suggested Citation

  • Nishith Prakash & Soham Sahoo & Deepak Saraswat & Reetika Sindhi, 2026. "When criminality begets crime: the role of elected politicians in India," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(1), pages 61-89.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:42:y:2026:i:1:p:61-89.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jleo/ewae021
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Somdeep Chatterjee & Pushkar Maitra & Manhar Manchanda, 2024. "The Relevant Third: Threat of Coalition and Economic Development," Monash Economics Working Papers 2024-13, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    3. Britto, Diogo & Daniele, Gianmarco & Le Moglie, Marco & Pinotti, Paolo & Sampaio, Breno, 2024. "A Few Bad Apples? Criminal Charges, Political Careers, and Policy Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 17328, IZA Network @ LISER.
    4. Jain, Chandan & Kashyap, Shagun & Lahoti, Rahul & Sahoo, Soham, 2023. "The impact of educated leaders on economic development: Evidence from India," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 1068-1093.
    5. Zhong, Yuchen, 2023. "Does electing criminally accused politicians affect the constituency level Maoist incidents? Evidence from India," Warwick-Monash Economics Student Papers 65, Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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