Open AccessThe effects of malapportionment on economic development
Author(s) -
Rikhil R. Bhavnani
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0259150
Subject(s) - representation (politics) , legislature , proxy (statistics) , redistribution (election) , public economics , welfare , politics , business , economics , political science , computer science , law , market economy , machine learning
Does the unequal formal representation of people in legislatures (“malapportionment”) affect development? Answering this question is critical for assessing the welfare costs of malapportionment. We argue that representation might spur development as the desire for reelection incentivizes legislators to provide for their districts, and as voters hold politicians to account for doing so. Since this is the case, malapportionment might cause unequal development. Using data from India, we show that a 10% increase in representation causes a 0.6% increase in night lights, a frequently used proxy for development. Reapportionment, or the equalization for representation, attenuates this effect. Consistent with the theory, the effect of representation is larger in districts with legislators and voters that are able to hold the executive to account.