crime in India. We exploit the quasi-random variation in the outcome of close elections between candidates with and without …This paper estimates the causal impact of electing criminally accused politicians and their nature of criminality on ….3 percent increase in crime in districts, including crimes against women. The effect is more pronounced when the leaders are …

This paper relates unique data on criminal records of local politicians in India to corruption, crime and poverty … compared to individuals living in districts where a criminal politician barely lost, this paper shows that criminal politicians … interests of politicians and those of interest groups converge, criminal politicians' control over bureaucrats acts as a …

public goods. To do so, we analyze policing and crime incidence under mayors directly elected by voters and under mayors … overall crime between 4.9% and 5.7%, depending on the specification. Our results further suggest that more accountable mayors …

for contesting elections, making it critical to understand the role of politicians' education in their performance. We … investigate the impact of electing an educated politician on economic development in the politician's constituency in India. We … and less-educated politicians. We find that narrowly electing a graduate leader, as compared to a non-graduate leader, in …

election finance. Where firms are highly regulated, politicians can exchange policy discretion or regulatory forbearance for … re-route funds to politicians as a form of indirect election finance. We use variation in the demand for cement to …Where elections are costly but accountability mechanisms are weak, politicians often turn to private firms for illicit …

for contesting elections, making it critical to understand the role of politicians' education in their performance. We … investigate the impact of electing an educated politician on economic development in the politician's constituency in India. We … and less-educated politicians. We find that narrowly electing a graduate leader, as compared to a non-graduate leader, in …

India's state assemblies, leveraging close elections to isolate causal effects. We find significantly higher growth in …

crime in India. We exploit the quasi-random variation in the outcome of close elections between candidates with and without …This paper estimates the causal impact of electing criminally accused politicians and their nature of criminality on ….3 percent increase in crime in districts, including crimes against women. The effect is more pronounced when the leaders are …

backgrounds are considered a great problem in many countries. In particular in India, a public disclosure revealed that a large … proportion of politicians currently face criminal charges. This has led to a heated public debate and emerging literature …

The large share of politicians facing criminal accusations in India has sparked a public debate and an emerging …