Replication Data for: Do women council members allocate more public goods? Evidence from rural India

Gender quotas are intended to address the underrepresentation of women in government. However, their effectiveness remains controversial. This study explores the random assignment of gender quotas across villages in India, examining whether women members of local councils affect public good allocation in their constituencies and identifying potential challenges they face when implementing policies. We conducted a field survey in 100 villages, each with a population of approximately 400, a size corresponding to only one council member for representation in the council. The findings suggest that the performance of women council members generally aligns with that of their men counterparts in terms of public goods allocation. However, women members exhibited less effectiveness in delivering water facilities. Factors potentially hindering female members include influence from non-member actors, such as husbands, lower educational attainment, and diminished electoral incentives. Additionally, the gender and caste of the council president impacts the performance of women council members, suggesting overall gender and caste composition of the legislature is an important aspect to consider when evaluating the performance of women politicians.

性别配额制度旨在解决女性在政府治理中代表性不足的问题，但其实施效果始终存在争议。本研究以印度乡村层面随机分配的性别配额为研究对象，考察地方议会女性议员是否会对其选区的公共物品配置产生影响，并识别她们在政策执行过程中可能面临的各类挑战。我们共在100个乡村开展实地调研，每个乡村的人口规模约为400人，恰好仅能产生1名议会代表名额。研究结果显示，在公共物品配置方面，女性议员的履职表现总体上与男性议员并无显著差异，但在供水设施的供给效能上，女性议员的表现相对逊色。可能制约女性议员履职的因素包括非议员主体（如丈夫）的影响力、较低的受教育水平，以及弱化的选举激励。此外，议会主席的性别与种姓身份会对女性议员的履职表现产生影响，这表明在评估女性政治家的履职表现时，立法机构的整体性别与种姓构成是一项不可忽视的重要考量维度。