Just Rewards? Local Politics and Public Resource Allocation in South India

This paper uses data on elected village councils in South India to examinethe political economy of public resource allocation. We find that the patternof policy-making reflects politicians' self-interest. Elected councillors benefit from improved personal access to public resources. In addition, the headcouncillor's group identity and residence influences public resource allocation.While electoral incentives do not eliminate politician opportunism, voters ap-pear able to use their electoral clout to gain greater access to public resources.[...]