Female Political Participation and Health in India

Abstract

This article uses a unique data set to investigate the determinants of political participation in India. In particular, the data from the 1981 census of India are coupled with electoral returns from 1979-80 to examine the factors influencing participation of both genders. Differential impact is explored empirically. Many of the same influences found to be important in developed countries are relevant in India, including income, education, and constituency culture. In addition, labor force participation and familial obligations have an effect, though in the opposite direction from that predicted in the United States. A lack of government-provided resources devoted to health and education also influences participation. A second investigation uses the same census data with 1977-78 election returns to estimate government response to female political participation in India. Regarding the causes of child mortality, no effect of female participation on health outcomes was found. This may result from the aggregation necessary to match census districts and voting constituencies.

Women’s Participation in Electoral Politics in India

“…Taking a broader perspective, the participation of women in politics not only comprises interactions in elections but also involves participation in trade unions, co-operatives, women's collectives, informal and formal politics. The term 'political participation' has been defined as a citizen's active involvement with public institutions, including voting, candidacy, campaigning, occupying political office and/or lobbying individually or through membership in a group (Arora, 1999;Gleason, 2001). This article uses the term in a much narrower sense, limited to women's participation in formal electoral politics at state and national level in electoral competitions only.…”

“…Women's political participation after independence was largely constrained by social norms shaping opportunities and perceptions of women's involvement in politics. Those perceptions were sometimes unique to men, at times shared by women (Arora, 1999;Gleason, 2001;Nair, 1996). Overall, the mass participation of women in the political field during the freedom struggle seemed to decline after independence.…”

“…Table 5 establishes that 9 out of 10 women interested in politics voted in the general elections 2009, compared with those who seemed disinterested in politics. Individual socio-demographic factors including education and income, sociocultural norms and caste are also associated with women's opportunities for political participation (Agarwal, 1997;Banerjee, 2003;Gleason, 2001). Women's involvement in electoral politics depends upon their societal background and the levels of liberty and freedom they enjoy.…”

Redistribution, inequality and political participation: Evidence from Mexico during the 2008 financial crisis

“…Expected gains may generate an overall increase in voting turnout in response to the implementation of redistributive programmes when those programmes are perceived to benefit the median voter (Persson and Tabellini 2002). In addition, by reducing inequality, government redistributive programmes may also improve the political voice of excluded groups (Gleason 2001), who tend to participate less when political processes are dominated by those at the top of the income distribution (Piketty 1998(Piketty , 2014.…”

Dilemmas of Decentralization in the Contemporary World

“…Zdecydowana większość kobiet, szczególnie na obszarach wiejskich, jest praktycznie wyłączona z życia publicznego. Struktura społeczeństw, w tym także struktura rodzin, ma zazwyczaj charakter patriarchalny, kobieta jest nadal podwładną mężczyzny, a przestrzeń jej aktywności ogranicza się do obejścia domowego [Gleason, 2001].…”