Latika Chaudhary|Jared Rubin
Religious identity and the provision of public goods: Evidence from the Indian Princely States
Naval Postgraduate School|Chapman University
paper describes simple model rulers religious identity affects public goods provision primary insight rulers reduce public goods expenditures greater degree privatelyprovided substitutes excludable religionthe basic idea good provided privately rulers coreligionists ruler faces weaker incentives provide public good coreligionists receive lower marginal utility provision testing conjecture empirical challenge however since religious identity rulers rarely varies time place address problem exploiting variation religion rulers indian princely states using data 1911 1931 indian censuses find muslimruled states lower hindu literacy significant impact muslim literacy result consistent model muslim religious schools provided substitute public schools served hindus muslims model substantiated fact religion ruler statistically significant impact railroad ownership post office provision neither privatelyprovided substitutes