IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/inddev/v17y2023i3p420-438.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Asymmetric Fiscal Federalism and Public Provision of Healthcare: New Insights from India

Author

Listed:
  • K. S. Harikrishnan
  • Gourishankar S. Hiremath

Abstract

In this article, we show undesirable consequences of a market-based system and argue for a public provision of healthcare. We examine the healthcare provision from the fiscal federalism perspective. With the asymmetric fiscal federal structure characterised by vertical and horizontal imbalances, states are dependent on transfers from union to provide public goods. Our analysis shows a widespread disparity in the public provision of healthcare in India due to fiscal imbalances. The performance of states in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic reveals that a robust public healthcare system is a prerequisite in managing a health emergency. We identify the withdrawal of governments from healthcare provision and concentration of resources with the union government as critical impediments to achieving universal healthcare access. In light of our analysis, we emphasise the need for resource devolution and cooperative federalism to ensure public provision for a dignified life in a functioning democracy.

Suggested Citation

  • K. S. Harikrishnan & Gourishankar S. Hiremath, 2023. "Asymmetric Fiscal Federalism and Public Provision of Healthcare: New Insights from India," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 17(3), pages 420-438, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:inddev:v:17:y:2023:i:3:p:420-438
    DOI: 10.1177/09737030241239736
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09737030241239736
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09737030241239736?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jayati Ghosh, 2020. "A critique of the Indian government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 47(3), pages 519-530, September.
    2. M. Govinda Rao & Nirvikar Singh, 2007. "The Political Economy of India's Fiscal Federal System and its Reform," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 37(1), pages 26-44, Winter.
    3. Singh, Nirvikar & Rao, Govinda, 2006. "Political Economy of Federalism in India," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195686937.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pinaki Chakraborty & Shatakshi Garg, 2018. "Fiscal pressure of migration & horizontal fiscal inequality: Evidence from Indian experience," WIDER Working Paper Series 004, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Singh, Nirvikar & Srinivasan, T.N., 2006. "Federalism and economic development in India:An assessment," MPRA Paper 1273, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Sharma, Chanchal Kumar, 2021. "The political economy of India's transition to Goods and Services Tax," GIGA Working Papers 325, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    4. Parantap Basu & Ritwik Mazumder, 2021. "Regional disparity of covid-19 infections: an investigation using state-level Indian data," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 215-232, June.
    5. Chakraborty, Pinaki & Mukherjee, Anit K. & Amar Nath, H.K., 2010. "Interstate distribution of central expenditure and subsidies," Working Papers 10/66, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    6. Nirvikar Singh, 2007. "The dynamics of reform of India’s federal system," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 8(01), pages 22-31, April.
    7. Shantanu Roy & C. Saratchand, 2023. "On the political economy of corporate encroachment in agriculture: short term macroeconomic concerns," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(3), pages 869-897, October.
    8. Anindita Adhikari & Navmee Goregaonkar & Rajendran Narayanan & Nishant Panicker & Nithya Ramamoorthy, 2020. "Manufactured Maladies: Lives and Livelihoods of Migrant Workers During COVID-19 Lockdown in India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(4), pages 969-997, December.
    9. United Cities and Local Governments, 2011. "Local Government Finance," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14696.
    10. M. Govinda Rao, 2005. "Transition to market and normative framework of fiscal federalism," Working Papers 05/36, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    11. R Mohan & Shyjan D, 2010. "Tax Devolution and Grant Distribution to States in India Analysis and Roadmap for Alternatives," Working Papers id:2421, eSocialSciences.
    12. Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay, 2017. "Paternalism and the public household. On the domestic origins of public economics," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 17032, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    13. Singh, Nirvikar, 2008. "India’s Development Strategy: Accidents, Design and Replicability," MPRA Paper 12453, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. D. K. Srivastava, 2006. "Equalizing Health and Education : Approach of the Twelfth Finance Commission," Finance Working Papers 22517, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    15. Shah, Sayar Ahmad & Garg, Bhavesh, 2023. "Identifying efficient policy mix under different targeting regimes: A tale of two crises," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 975-994.
    16. Kala Seetharam Sridhar & A. Venugopala Reddy, 2011. "Investment and Economic Opportunities: Urbanization, Infrastructure and Governance in The North and South of India," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 18(1), pages 1-46, June.
    17. Rai, Anish & Mahata, Ajit & Nurujjaman, Md & Majhi, Sushovan & Debnath, Kanish, 2022. "A sentiment-based modeling and analysis of stock price during the COVID-19: U- and Swoosh-shaped recovery," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 592(C).
    18. Saibal Ghosh, 2010. "Does Political Competition Matter for Economic Performance? Evidence from Sub‐national Data," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(5), pages 1030-1048, December.
    19. Danat Valizade & Manhal Ali & Mark Stuart, 2023. "Inequalities in the disruption of paid work during the Covid‐19 pandemic: A world systems analysis of core, semi‐periphery, and periphery states," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 189-213, April.
    20. Monaghan, Lee F., 2024. "Schematising COVID-19 pandemic responses: An ideal typical analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:inddev:v:17:y:2023:i:3:p:420-438. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.