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The political economy of implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India

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  • Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay

Abstract

This paper focuses on four selected questions. (1) How does local political competition and the characteristics of the elected officials matter for the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)? (2) Is there local capture of the benefits from the scheme? (3) What role does reservation for caste and gender in political positions play in the implementation of the scheme. (4) Do center-state linkages have a role to play in how NREGS is implemented across states? To answer these questions, this paper reviews the relevant literature and finds avenues for future research. It provides some strategies to do empirical work on the four issues highlighted. The paper also provides evidence on some indicators of NREGS implementation across states and suggests that there may be some link between centre-state alignment and NREGS implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay, 2012. "The political economy of implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-015-12, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:esid-015-12
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    Cited by:

    1. Sanjiv Kumar & S. Madheswaran & B. P. Vani, 2021. "Response of Poverty Pockets to the Right-based Demand-driven MGNREGA Programme," Review of Development and Change, , vol. 26(1), pages 5-24, June.
    2. Ronit Mukherji, 2019. "Local Leadership and Public Good: Evidence from The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 17(2), pages 311-329, June.
    3. Deepti Goel & Ashwini Deshpande, 2020. "Social identity and perceived income adequacy," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 339-361, May.
    4. Gupta, Bhanu & Mukhopadhyay, Abhiroop, 2016. "Local funds and political competition: Evidence from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 14-30.
    5. Mushtaq Ahmad Malla, 2020. "MGNREGA in Kashmir: An Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes and Livelihood Security," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 14(3), pages 424-446, December.

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