Do Criminally Charged Politicians Deliver? Evidence from India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

• In Event: Politics and Performance in South Asia

Brief Overview

Do criminally accused MLAs harm benefit delivery in India? Using a regression discontinuity design, I estimate the causal impact of electing a “criminal” politician on the distribution of NREGS projects. Accused politicians complete fewer projects.

Author

• Galen Patrick Murray, University of California-Los Angeles