American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Female Leaders and Intrahousehold Dynamics: Evidence from State Elections in India
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 441–75)
Abstract
We study the impact of women's political representation on the well-being of their female constituents, specifically in the domain of health. Increasing women's political representation leads to greater public provision of reproductive health care services in rural areas. Consequently, rural women can exercise greater control over their reproductive choices through the adoption of modern contraception and increased birth spacing. However, these positive impacts are accompanied by an increase in intimate partner violence against women. The increase in spousal abuse is particularly pronounced among women whose husbands prefer to have additional sons, suggesting that the wife's greater contraceptive use triggers marital conflict.Citation
Anukriti, S., Bilge Erten, and Priya Mukherjee. 2026. "Female Leaders and Intrahousehold Dynamics: Evidence from State Elections in India." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 18 (3): 441–75. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20240369Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D13 Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
- O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure