Political Power and Mortality: Heterogeneous Effects of the U.S. Voting Rights Act

TL;DR

This study examines how the 1975 extension of the Voting Rights Act affected mortality rates across different demographic groups, revealing complex health impacts linked to political empowerment and social stress.

Contribution

It provides novel evidence on the heterogeneous health effects of political power redistribution through voting rights legislation, emphasizing psychosocial mechanisms.

Findings

Mortality declined among non-white children, young adults, and older women.

Mortality increased among whites and older non-white men.

Differences are linked to psychosocial stress and perceived status threats.

Abstract

We study the health consequences of redistributing political power through the 1975 extension of the Voting Rights Act, which eliminated barriers to voting for previously disenfranchised nonwhite populations. The intervention led to broad declines in under-five mortality but sharply contrasting effects in other age groups: mortality fell among non-white children, younger adults, and older women, yet rose among whites and older non-white men. These differences cannot be reconciled by changes in population composition or material conditions. Instead, we present evidence suggesting psychosocial stress and retaliatory responses arising from perceived status threat as key mechanisms.