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 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.

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