How do electoral quotas focused on a single dimension of identity affect the representation of other disadvantaged identities? In this paper, I examine the impact of quotas for marginalized ethnic groups on women’s representation and argue that, when gender norms are correlated with social status, quotas for marginalized ethnic groups may influence women’s representation. To empirically test this, I use a novel design that leverages quasi-random variation in the assignment of caste quotas for council member seats in rural Maharashtra. I find that, for seats with quotas for marginalized caste groups, the likelihood of women running for and winning political office is higher than for seats without quotas. Consistent with the theory, I find evidence suggesting that these findings are driven by differential gender norms across groups. This paper highlights how norms matter for understanding the effects of electoral quotas on representation.

Governments worldwide regulate political candidacy through various means. This paper examines electoral laws in India that disqualify citizens with more than two children from contesting local government offices. These laws were implemented based on the premise that political officeholders, through their significant influence on their communities, could help shape social norms around family size. Using variation in the law's adoption across states, I employ a difference-in-differences framework to analyze its effects on political candidacy among Muslims, who constitute India's largest religious minority and one of its most marginalized groups. I find that fertility limits reduce Muslim candidacy. However, there is no significant impact on the total candidacy and candidacy of other major social groups. I argue that this is due to the dilemma potential candidates face between complying with the law or adhering to social norms regarding family size. Drawing on an original survey of 500 village politicians, I find evidence consistent with my theory. Additionally, the survey highlights that many politically aspiring citizens may cope with these limits by fielding proxies. This paper underscores that states' efforts to shape social norms through electoral laws may come at the cost of marginalized groups' political candidacy and may also encourage proxy candidates.

This study explores a crucial aspect of decentralized government: how direct and indirect voting systems for electing executives affect legislator elections. While exist- ing scholarship has examined the incentives and performance of government heads under different voting systems, little attention has been paid to the spillover effects on other elected officials. I argue that direct elections diminish council members’ influence, as executives become accountable to voters rather than council members, thereby reducing the value of legislative positions. Using unique administrative data documenting different stages of the electoral process in Maharashtra, India, I examine how a shift from indirect to direct election of village heads affects candidate nomination (entry), withdrawal (exit), and final candidacy (competition) for council member seats. Direct election of village heads significantly decreases the number of candidate nominations, withdrawals, and total candidates for council seats. These negative ef- fects are amplified in constituencies where the village head seat has different caste quotas than council seats, and disproportionately affect women candidates. This research contributes to our understanding of how institutional design choices create spillover effects across different levels of government and highlights unintended consequences of electoral reforms for legislative representation.

Misinformation poses serious risks for democratic governance, conflict, and health. This study evaluates whether sustained, classroom-based education against misinformation can equip schoolchildren to become more discerning consumers of information. Partnering with a state government agency in Bihar, India, we conducted a field experiment in 583 villages with 13,500 students, using a 4-month curriculum designed to build skills, shift norms, and enhance knowledge about health misinformation. Intent-to-treat estimates demonstrate that treated respondents were significantly better at discerning true from false information, altered their health preferences, relied more on science, and reduced their dependence on unreliable news sources. We resurveyed participants 4 months post-intervention and found that effects persisted, as well as extended to political misinformation. Finally, we observe spillover effects within households, with parents of treated students becoming more adept at discerning information. As many countries seek long-term solutions to combat misinformation, these findings highlight the promise of sustained classroom-based education.

Despite the positive impacts of gender quotas, concerns remain that women leaders serve as political proxies for male family members. The magnitude of this phenomenon however remains unknown. We develop and validate a low-cost, scalable phone-based measure of proxy leadership in local village councils: does a female politician personally respond to a governance-related phone survey? Phone surveys of over 1,100 local politicians across two Indian states reveal a striking gender gap: female politicians are 37.5% less likely than male politicians to respond to our survey themselves. Our results also highlight significant variation in proxy status among female politicians. Further, an inperson citizen survey (N=969) in a subset of village councils shows that citizens in councils where the representative responded to our survey themselves were also 66% more likely to correctly identify their female leader, thereby validating the phone measure as a robust predictor of proxy leadership. Rather than undermine the effectiveness of gender quotas, our study offers a practical tool that underscores the variation in, and barriers to, substantive representation.

Misinformation can have severe consequences, especially among populations with low levels of digital literacy, education, and access to technology. A large body of literature looks at interventions to counter misinformation, but we know less about the message-level attributes that make particular pieces of information attractive. We field an in-person survey in Bihar, India, with a sample of over 6,000 adolescents to determine what factors influence the sharing of (mis)information. Using a conjoint design that randomizes a piece of information's topic, veracity, transmitter identity, original source, and social endorsement -- each in an online or offline setting with an effective sample size of ~36,000 profiles -- our study reveals three key findings. First, respondents relied on source, social endorsement, and veracity cues when deciding what information to share, with a pronounced emphasis on veracity and accuracy. Second, results revealed a bias against Muslim transmitters of information, but not Hindu transmitters, with Muslim sources being penalized more severely for disseminating false information. Finally, while social endorsement plays a significant role in information sharing, its impact varies between online and offline settings, with respondents placing greater importance on reputation-affecting cues when sharing information in-person. These results demonstrate that religious biases can extend to information processing and the online versus offline context that information is received in can significantly alter choices, demonstrating that focusing on less privileged populations in terms of access to information and digital connectivity can reveal striking findings.

We examine how extreme temperatures affect voter turnout and electoral outcomes in state assembly elections across India. Our findings reveal that both, low and high temperatures on polling days, lead to a decrease in voter turnout. We show that low temperatures exacerbate the gender gap in turnout, while high temperatures affect male and female turnout equally. The decline in turnout due to higher temperatures is especially pronounced when the morning and evening temperatures are high. Moreover, extreme temperatures increase the winner's vote share, indicating reduced electoral competition. We plan to expand our analysis to investigate the effects on winner characteristics and policy performance as a consequence of decreased electoral competition.