This paper estimates the incumbency effects in elections to state legislatures in India. I use the Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) technique to overcome the bias that arises in previous empirical methodologies. RDD exploits the comparability of winners and losers in closely fought elections to net out the effect due to incumbency. Using a large dataset on legislative elections of 25 Indian states between 1975 and 2003, I find that incumbent candidates are at a significant disadvantage as compared to non-incumbents. Variation in incumbency effects across Indian states can be explained in part due to differences in degree of competitiveness of elections and in levels of public good provision.

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We study the causal impact of electing criminally accused politicians to state legislative assemblies in India on the subsequent economic performance of their constituencies. Using data on the criminal background of candidates running for state assembly elections and a constituency-level measure of economic activity proxied by intensity of night-time lights, we employ a regression discontinuity design that controls for unobserved heterogeneity across constituencies and find 22-percentage point lower yearly growth in the intensity of night-time lights arising from the election of a criminally accused politician. These effects are driven by serious, financial and the number of criminal charges and appear to be concentrated in the less developed and more corrupt Indian states. Similar findings emerge for the provision of public goods using data on India's major rural roads construction program.

Background:Uncorrected refractive errors are the main cause of vision impairment in school-aged children. The current study focuses on the effectiveness of school eye screening in correcting refractive errors.Objectives:1. To study the magnitude of visual impairment among school children. 2. To assess the compliance of students for refraction testing, procurement and use of spectacles.Materials and Methods:An intervention study was conducted in schools of the north- west district of Delhi, in the rural field practice area of a medical college. Students studying in five government schools in the field practice area were chosen as the study subjects.Results:Out of 1123 students enrolled, 1075 (95.7%) students were screened for refractive errors. Low vision (visual acuity < 20/60) in the better eye was observed in 31 (2.9%) children and blindness (visual acuity <20/200) in 10 (0.9%) children. Compliance with referral for refraction was very low as only 51 (41.5%) out of 123 students could be tested for refraction. Out of 48 students, 34 (70.8%) procured spectacles from family resources but its regular use was found among only 10 (29.4%) students. The poor compliance among students stems out of various myths and perceptions regarding use of spectacles prevalent in the community.Conclusion:Refractive error is an important cause of avoidable blindness among rural school children. Behavior change communication among rural masses by spreading awareness about eye health and conducting operational research at school and community level to involve parent's teachers associations and senior students to motivate students for use of spectacles may improve utilization of existing eye health services in rural areas.

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