IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jsecdv/v20y2018i1d10.1007_s40847-018-0063-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An index of legislators’ performance: evidence from Indian parliamentary data

Author

Listed:
  • Saibal Ghosh

    (Qatar Central Bank)

Abstract

Employing information on legislators of the 15th Lok Sabha elections in India, the paper proposes a Legislator Performance Index (LPI). Based on the computed index, we classify legislators as those with low, medium and high performance. Subsequently, we link this index with various covariates within a multivariate regression framework. The findings lend credence to the fact that legislator background is a key factor explaining performance. Besides, the results also suggest that, in conjunction with background, variables such as age, asset position and the reservation status of a constituency play an important role in influencing legislator performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Saibal Ghosh, 2018. "An index of legislators’ performance: evidence from Indian parliamentary data," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 20(1), pages 129-151, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jsecdv:v:20:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s40847-018-0063-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s40847-018-0063-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40847-018-0063-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s40847-018-0063-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clots-Figueras, Irma, 2011. "Women in politics: Evidence from the Indian States," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 664-690, August.
    2. Keefer, Philip & Khemani, Stuti, 2009. "When do Legislators pass on"Pork"? the determinants of legislator utilization of a constituency development fund in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4929, The World Bank.
    3. Saibal Ghosh, 2010. "Does Political Competition Matter for Economic Performance? Evidence from Sub‐national Data," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(5), pages 1030-1048, December.
    4. Gabriel Jiménez & Jesús Saurina, 2006. "Credit Cycles, Credit Risk, and Prudential Regulation," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 2(2), May.
    5. Yogesh Uppal, 2011. "Does legislative turnover adversely affect state expenditure policy? Evidence from Indian state elections," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 189-207, April.
    6. Ferreira, Fernando & Gyourko, Joseph, 2014. "Does gender matter for political leadership? The case of U.S. mayors," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 24-39.
    7. Timothy Besley & Valentino Larcinese, 2011. "Working or shirking? Expenses and attendance in the UK Parliament," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 291-317, March.
    8. Clots-Figueras, Irma, 2011. "Women in politics," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 664-690.
    9. Raymond Fisman & Nikolaj A. Harmon & Emir Kamenica & Inger Munk, 2015. "Labor Supply Of Politicians," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(5), pages 871-905, October.
    10. Thushyanthan Baskaran & Sonia Bhalotra & Brian Min & Yogesh Uppal, 2024. "Women legislators and economic performance," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 151-214, June.
    11. Papke, Leslie E. & Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 2008. "Panel data methods for fractional response variables with an application to test pass rates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 145(1-2), pages 121-133, July.
    12. Naci Mocan & Duha T. Altindag, 2013. "Salaries and Work Effort: An Analysis of the European Union Parliamentarians," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123(12), pages 1130-1167, December.
    13. Stefano Gagliarducci & Tommaso Nannicini & Paolo Naticchioni, 2011. "Electoral Rules and Politicians' Behavior: A Micro Test," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 144-174, August.
    14. Bhavnani, Rikhil R., 2009. "Do Electoral Quotas Work after They Are Withdrawn? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in India," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 103(1), pages 23-35, February.
    15. Aidt, T. & Golden, M. A. & Tiwari, D., 2011. "Incumbents and Criminals in the Indian National Legislature," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1157, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    16. Raymond Fisman & Florian Schulz & Vikrant Vig, 2014. "The Private Returns to Public Office," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(4), pages 806-862.
    17. Timothy Besley & Robin Burgess, 2000. "Land Reform, Poverty Reduction, and Growth: Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 389-430.
    18. Yogesh Uppal, 2009. "The disadvantaged incumbents: estimating incumbency effects in Indian state legislatures," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 9-27, January.
    19. P. Duraisamy & Bruno Jérôme, 2017. "Who wins in the Indian parliament election: Criminals, wealthy and incumbents?," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 19(2), pages 245-262, October.
    20. Mark Mink & Jakob de Haan, 2006. "Are there Political Budget Cycles in the Euro Area?," European Union Politics, , vol. 7(2), pages 191-211, June.
    21. Prakash, Nishith & Rockmore, Marc & Uppal, Yogesh, 2014. "Do Criminal Representatives Hinder or Improve Constituency Outcomes? Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 8452, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Spitzer, Sonja & Hammer, Bernhard, 2016. "The Division of Labour Within Households: Fractional Logit Estimates based on the Austrian Time Use Survey," MPRA Paper 81791, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Matthieu Chemin, 2012. "Welfare Effects of Criminal Politicians: A Discontinuity-Based Approach," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(3), pages 667-690.
    24. Vicente Salas & Jesús Saurina, 2002. "Credit Risk in Two Institutional Regimes: Spanish Commercial and Savings Banks," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 22(3), pages 203-224, December.
    25. Khemani, Stuti, 2004. "Political cycles in a developing economy: effect of elections in the Indian States," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 125-154, February.
    26. Rohini Pande, 2003. "Can Mandated Political Representation Increase Policy Influence for Disadvantaged Minorities? Theory and Evidence from India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1132-1151, September.
    27. Sitakanta Panda, 2012. "Legislator characteristics and legislative outcomes in India," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(4), pages 3401-3416.
    28. Borooah, Vani, 2006. "Incumbency and Parliamentary Elections in India," MPRA Paper 19420, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    29. Saibal Ghosh, 2010. "Does Political Competition Matter for Economic Performance? Evidence from Sub-national Data," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58, pages 1030-1048, December.
    30. Fisman David & Fisman Raymond J. & Galef Julia & Khurana Rakesh & Wang Yongxiang, 2012. "Estimating the Value of Connections to Vice-President Cheney," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, December.
    31. Massimiliano Castellani & Pierpaolo Pattitoni & Antonello Eugenio Scorcu, 2012. "Visual artist price heterogeneity," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 1(3), pages 16-22.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ippolito, Marzia & Cozzolino, Adriano & Ercolano, Salvatore, 2024. "If you really love nothing. Evaluating second-order factors in the case of Italian constitutional referendum of 2020," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Prakash, Nishith & Rockmore, Marc & Uppal, Yogesh, 2019. "Do criminally accused politicians affect economic outcomes? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    2. Chitra Jogani, 2022. "Effect of Political Quotas on Attributes of Political Candidates and Provision of Public Goods," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 267-316, April.
    3. Gehring, Kai & Kauffeldt, T. Florian & Vadlamannati, Krishna Chaitanya, 2019. "Crime, incentives and political effort: Evidence from India," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1-20.
    4. Hessami, Zohal & da Fonseca, Mariana Lopes, 2020. "Female political representation and substantive effects on policies: A literature review," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    5. Bhalotra, Sonia & Clots-Figueras, Irma & Iyer, Lakshmi, 2013. "Path-Breakers: How Does Women’s Political Participation Respond to Electoral Success?," Economics Discussion Papers 9008, University of Essex, Department of Economics.
    6. Jain, Chandan & Kashyap, Shagun & Lahoti, Rahul & Sahoo, Soham, 2022. "Do Educated Leaders Affect Economic Development? Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 15278, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. 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.
    8. 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).
    9. Beath, Andrew & Christia, Fotini & Enikolopov, Ruben, 2012. "Empowering women : evidence from a field experiment in Afghanistan," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6269, The World Bank.
    10. repec:esx:essedp:740 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Bhalotra, Sonia R. & Clots-Figueras, Irma & Iyer, Lakshmi, 2013. "Path-Breakers: How Does Women's Political Participation Respond to Electoral Success?," IZA Discussion Papers 7771, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Bernecker, Andreas, 2014. "Do politicians shirk when reelection is certain? Evidence from the German parliament," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 55-70.
    13. Bagues, Manuel & Campa, Pamela, 2021. "Can gender quotas in candidate lists empower women? Evidence from a regression discontinuity design," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    14. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo, 2016. "Field Experiments on Discrimination," NBER Working Papers 22014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Bhalotra, Sonia & Clots-Figueras, Irma & Iyer, Lakshmi, 2021. "Religion and abortion: The role of politician identity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    16. Jekaterina Kuliomina, 2016. "Does Election of an Additional Female Councilor Increase Women's Candidacy in the Future?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp559, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    17. Marco Frank & David Stadelmann, 2021. "Political competition and legislative shirking in roll-call votes: Evidence from Germany for 1953–2017," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 555-575, December.
    18. Kuliomina, Jekaterina, 2021. "Do personal characteristics of councilors affect municipal budget allocation?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    19. Thushyanthan Baskaran & Zohal Hessami, 2019. "Competitively Elected Women as Policy Makers," CESifo Working Paper Series 8005, CESifo.
    20. De Paola, Maria & Scoppa, Vincenzo & De Benedetto, Marco Alberto, 2014. "The impact of gender quotas on electoral participation: Evidence from Italian municipalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 141-157.
    21. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Member of Parliament; Attendance; Questions; Performance; Democracy; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D - Microeconomics
    • H - Public Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jsecdv:v:20:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s40847-018-0063-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.