THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSIVENESS: THEORY AND EVIDENCE FROM INDIA

The determinants of government responsiveness to its citizens is a key issue in politicaleconomy. Here, we develop a model based on the solution of political agency problems.Having a more informed and politically active electorate strengthens incentives for governmentsto be responsive. This suggests that there is a role for both democratic institutionsand mass media in ensuring that the preferences of citizens are reflected in policy. Theideas behind the model are tested on panel data from India. We show that state governmentsare more responsive to falls in food production and crop flood damage via publicfood distribution and calamity relief expenditure where newspaper circulation is higher andelectoral accountability greater.[...]