*CANCELLED* CREDIT Seminar: Lakshmi Iyer (University of Notre Dame)

It takes a village: Administrative devolution and human development in India (with Latika Chaudhary)

Abstract: We examine the impact of administrative decentralization reforms on human development by collecting unique data on the devolution of functions, functionaries and funds to the local level. Exploiting differences in reform timing across Indian states, we  find that devolution of health functions results in worsening of neonatal, infant and under-5 child mortality rates. However, when functional devolution is accompanied by either functionaries or funds devolution, we find no differences in child mortality between states that devolve and those that do not.