Proportional Representation, Political Responsiveness and Child Mortality

60 Pages Posted: 10 Nov 2019

See all articles by Christina Gathmann

Christina Gathmann

Luxembourg Institute for Socio-Economic Research; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Abstract

There has been a longstanding debate about the link between political representation and health. In this article, I provide novel evidence that electoral reforms that shifted from a majoritarian to a proportional system of voter representation generated substantive health benefits for the general population. Using the exemplary case of Switzerland, I first show that the spread of proportional representation between 1890 and 1950 increased political participation and gave the working class, represented by left-wing parties, greater weight in the political process.Consistent with theories of the electoral system, proportional representation increased public investments, esp. in basic education, with few effects on redistribution or total spending. Based on comprehensive archival mortality statistics since 1890, I then demonstrate that the observed shifts in representation and public finances were associated with substantial declines in child mortality by 15% and in mortality from infectious diseases, the major killer of the time, by 10-15%.

Keywords: electoral system, proportional representation, mortality, health, Switzerland

JEL Classification: N33, N34, I14, H51, D72

Suggested Citation

Gathmann, Christina, Proportional Representation, Political Responsiveness and Child Mortality. IZA Discussion Paper No. 12729, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3483967 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3483967

Christina Gathmann (Contact Author)

Luxembourg Institute for Socio-Economic Research ( email )

11, Porte des Sciences
Campus Belval – Maison des Sciences Humaines
Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4366
Luxembourg

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.iza.org/index_html?lang=en&mainframe=http%3A//www.iza.org/en/webcontent/personnel/photos%

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.stanford.edu/~cgathman

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