Enfranchising Your Own? Experimental Evidence on Bureaucrat Diversity and Election Bias in India

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Neggers, Yusuf
• 署名单位: Brown University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20170404
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 1288-1321
• 关键词: LABOR-MARKET DISCRIMINATION; VOTER IDENTIFICATION LAWS; ethnic diversity; field experiment; public-goods; political-economy; outcomes; ACCOUNTABILITY; responsiveness; GOVERNMENT

摘要

This paper investigates the effects of polling station administrator diversity on elections in India, using a natural experiment: the random assignment of government officials to teams managing stations on election day, together with surveys conducted with voters and election officers. I demonstrate that changes in the religious and caste composition of officer teams impact voting at the polling station level, causing shifts in coalition vote shares large enough to influence election outcomes. Effects are strongest when officers have greater discretion over the voting process. I also provide evidence suggesting own-group favoritism by election personnel as one relevant mechanism.