29
-- Table 8 about here --
Results for elected representatives are broadly similar to those observed for the larger
sample of individual villagers.
− Gender is once again strongly and negatively associated with participation. Female members
of panchayats participate to a considerably smaller degree – more than 15 percentage points
less than males, on average.
− Religion and Caste are once again not significantly associated with participation by
representatives in panchayats’ activities across the study population. Even when the sample
was analyzed specifically for SC and ST representatives, no significant differences in
participation levels became apparent. Representatives elected from among these reserved
categories do not participate any less actively, on average, compared to representatives from
other social groups.
− Wealth (as measured by landholding) also does not have any significant association with
participation.
− Education and Access to Information are significantly associated with higher participation.
Every additional year of education tends, on average, to raise representatives’ participation
by more than two-and-a-half percentage points. Similarly, higher access to information is
positively and significantly associated with greater participation – by almost three percentage
points, on average, for each additional source of information that is consulted.
Convention