Absence: Electoral Cycles and Teacher Absenteeism in India

• In Event: The Politics of Patronage and Public Service Delivery in Developing Countries: Evidence from Ghana, India, Indonesia and Brazil

Brief Overview

This paper assesses teacher absenteeism in India and finds that absenteeism decreases substantially in election years. I argue that this is the result of differential attention politicians pay to public services over the electoral term.

Author

• Emmerich E. Davies, Harvard University