Working Paper

Synchronized Elections, Voter Behavior and Governance Outcomes: Evidence from India (with Vimal Balasubramaniam and Sabyasachi Das)

We examine whether holding national and state elections simultaneously or sequentially affects voter decisions and consequently, electoral and economic outcomes in India. Synchronized elections increase the likelihood of the same political party winning constituencies in both tiers by 21%. It reduces split-ticket voting, increases the salience of party among voters and shifts voters’ priority to state issues, without significantly affecting turnout and winning margin. A model of behaviorally constrained voters with costly information acquisition best explains our results. Finally, synchronization results in insignificant economic gains. Our findings have implications for the design of elections to multiple tiers of government.

Media Coverage: Ideas for India, Mint
Zoom Presentation: TCPD, Ashoka University (August 2020)

Work in Progress

1) Candidate Selection for a Training and Placement Program in India (with Wiji Arulampalam, Bhaskar Chakravorty, Clément Imbert and Roland Rathelot)

2) Soldier Casualty and Voting Behaviour: Evidence from India (with Yatish Arya)

Pre-PhD Publications

Criaco, G., Serarols, C., Minola, T., Bhatiya, A., (2013): Companies spun out of universities: Different typologies for different performance patterns, in: Therin, F. (Ed.), Handbook of Research in Techno-Entrepreneurship, 2. Edward Elgar, 235-261.