The impact of India's regional parties on voter turnout and human development
Publication Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
10-2012
Abstract
While some analysts fear that regional parties in federal democracies are narrow in orientation, Indian experience has shown that regional parties can sometimes improve both voter turnout and human development (HD) in their region. Based on the experience of the South Indian states of Kerala and Tamilnadu, this article develops a theory of how regional parties in developing countries may occasionally succeed at these goals while identifying five obstacles that may prevent HD improvement even if voter turnout expands. Testing this theory across Indian states over the period from 1970 to 2000, I discover that regional parties significantly increased voter turnout. Utilising pooled regression analysis of the human development index (HDI), I find that HD performance was largely determined by initial conditions, social spending, agricultural yield and gender equality, but the evidence also suggests a small but positive relationship between regional party control of state governments and HDI improvement.
Keywords
Federalism, human development, India, political parties, regional parties, voter turnout
Discipline
Asian Studies | Political Science
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
Journal of South Asian Development
Volume
7
Issue
2
First Page
139
Last Page
160
ISSN
0973-1741
Identifier
10.1177/0973174112466362
Citation
JOSHI, Devin K..(2012). The impact of India's regional parties on voter turnout and human development. Journal of South Asian Development, 7(2), 139-160.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1975
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0973174112466362