American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Do the Effects of Temporary Ethnic Group Quotas Persist? Evidence from India
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
(pp. 105–23)
Abstract
Do electoral quotas for ethnic groups continue to improve their chances of winning elections after quotas are withdrawn? This is an important question since ethnic group quotas are common, and are often intended to be temporary. Using natural experiments, I find that electoral quotas for India's "scheduled castes" (SCs) fail to boost SCs' chances of winning office after they are discontinued. These results contrast with the significant positive effects of past women's quotas found in similar contexts.Citation
Bhavnani, Rikhil R. 2017. "Do the Effects of Temporary Ethnic Group Quotas Persist? Evidence from India." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 9 (3): 105–23. DOI: 10.1257/app.20160030Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification