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The Allocation of Publicly-Provided Goods to Rural Households in India: On Some Consequences of Caste, Religion and Democracy

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  • Roger R. Betancourt

    (Department of Economics, University of Maryland)

  • Suzanne Gleason

    (Massachussetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School)

Abstract

In this study we address the following question-- what determines the allocation of publicly-provided goods to rural households in India? Our paper is empirically driven but we draw on the characteristics of India's institutional structure and the implications of existing literature for framing the answer to this question. We confront the main empirical implications drawn from this frame of reference with a unique data set for India which brings together the widely used district data with a recently constructed data set on political participation. Our empirical results identify four important determinants of the outcomes of this allocation process: formal and informal characteristics of each state allocation mechanism, selectivity in the allocations against Muslims and scheduled castes; bureaucratic rules and behavior; and characteristics of the electoral participation process.

Suggested Citation

  • Roger R. Betancourt & Suzanne Gleason, 1999. "The Allocation of Publicly-Provided Goods to Rural Households in India: On Some Consequences of Caste, Religion and Democracy," Electronic Working Papers 99-004, University of Maryland, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:umd:umdeco:99-004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Distribution Sector; Allocation of Publicly-provided Goods; Tiebout; Collective Choice; Fiscal Decentralization in Developing Countries; Rural India; Empirical Analysis of Institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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