Published Paper Details:

The term political business cycle is used to describe the stimulation of economy just before an election in order to improve the prospect of incumbent government getting re-elected. Various studies in the political economy have covered this interesting interaction of tactical redistribution, political business cycles and voting behavior. In this study we have observed the strategic response of Bihar Government to the exogenous shock of Covid-19 keeping in mind the upcoming assembly elections in the state. We have observed that how election in state of Bihar pushed the performance of the health institutions of the state despite lagging behind in per capita health infrastructure as compared to other states. In our findings we have observed that Bihar has outperformed in managing COVID-19 pandemic compared to other states when measured by the size of economy, recent election in states, Population, Area and better Health infrastructure in terms of number of beds and doctor's availability.