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Identities and Public Policies: Unintended Effects of Political Reservations for Women in India

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Abstract

Identity is an important determinant of economic behavior. A limitation of the existing literature is the focus on one identity dimension at a time. We show that the multiplicity of identity dimensions matters for economic behavior and that neglecting it may lead policy makers to overlook important, unintended effects of economic policies. We exploit the randomized nature of political reservations for women in India to show that a policy designed along one identity dimension (gender) alters the distribution of the benefits of this policy along another one (caste). We propose an important variation in gender norms across caste groups as a plausible mechanism.

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  • Guilhem Cassan & Lore Vandewalle, 2017. "Identities and Public Policies: Unintended Effects of Political Reservations for Women in India," IHEID Working Papers 18-2017, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:gii:giihei:heidwp18-2017
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    2. Cassan,Guilhem & Keniston,Daniel & Kleineberg,Tatjana Karina, 2021. "A Division of Laborers : Identity and Efficiency in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9544, The World Bank.
    3. Labonne, Julien & Parsa, Sahar & Querubin, Pablo, 2021. "Political dynasties, term limits and female political representation: Evidence from the Philippines," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 212-228.
    4. Girard, Victoire, 2018. "Don’t Touch My Road. Evidence from India on Affirmative Action And Everyday Discrimination," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 1-13.
    5. Varun Karekurve‐Ramachandra & Alexander Lee, 2020. "Do Gender Quotas Hurt Less Privileged Groups? Evidence from India," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(4), pages 757-772, October.
    6. Bibek Bhattacharya & Ipsu Khadka & Dalhia Mani, 2022. "Shaking Up (and Keeping Intact) the Old Boys’ Network: The Impact of the Mandatory Gender Quota on the Board of Directors in India," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(4), pages 763-778, May.
    7. Julien Labonne & Sahar Parsa & Pablo Querubín, 2019. "Political Dynasties, Term Limits and Female Political Empowerment: Evidence from the Philippines," NBER Working Papers 26431, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    Keywords

    Intersectionality; identity economics; gender; quotas; affirmative action;
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