9789382264781

NEW NEW NEW NEW Size : 150mm x 230mm • Pages : xviii+366pp

• Year : 2014 • Binding : Hardback • ISBN : 9789382264781 • Price ` 895.00 only

Decentralization and Empowerment for Rural Development Hari K. Nagarajan, Hans P. Binswanger-Mkhize & S.S. Meenakshisundaram Hari K. Nagarajan is Professor and RBI Chair in Rural Economics at Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA).

Hans P. Binswanger-Mkhize is Visiting Professor at the School of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing and Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

S. S. Meenakshisundaram is Visiting Professor at National Institute for Advanced Sciences (NIAS), and Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore.

Decentralization and Empowerment for Rural Development Hari K. Nagarajan, Hans P. Binswanger-Mkhize & S.S. Meenakshisundaram

of tied grants that Panchayats receive has long been criticized as leading to a general constriction of choices left with the Panchayats to be able to effectively allocate expenditures. Most importantly, the book quantifies the impact of Panchayats in terms of the ability of households to reduce vulnerability and transit out of poverty.

CONTENTS

This book examines the empowerment of citizens in general and of the poor and marginalized groups in particular by the process of decentralization. It discusses the precise role of Panchayat and local governance on the quantity and quality of services.

Some of the findings include – long term impacts of political reservation for women, positive relationship between local revenue generation and quality of governance, significant welfare gains due to parochial politics and even bribes. The mechanisms through which improvements in governance are achieved include Gram Sabha meetings with specific agenda related to services, participation of households in such meetings, and, the impact of specific institutions such as VECs, VWUSCs, and the Pani Panchayats.

The authors are able to prove that a positive relationship exists between the quality of services and increasing local revenues. The large number

List of Tables and Figures • Foreword 1 • Foreword 2 • Preface ; 1 Introduction; 2. Decentralization: Cross-country Experiences; 3. Thinking about Decentralization in India: 73rd Amendment and Beyond ; 4. Literature; 5. An Overview of the Data; 6. Analytical Approaches and Econometric Methods Used; 7. Can Panchayats Improve the Quality of Services? Some Qualitative Evidence; 8. Impact of Political Reservations for Women in Panchayats; 9. Importance of Individual Empowerment of Women; 10. Governance, Service Provision and Development Outcomes; 11. The Impact of Fiscal Grants on Tax Efforts of Village Panchayats; 12.

Incidence of Identity-based Voting and Bribes in Panchayats; 13. Panchayats and Household Vulnerability; 14. Key Findings, Conclusions and Policy Recommendations • References • Index • About the Authors Foundation Books is an imprint of Cambridge University Press, India.

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07/2014