Does local governance matter? The relationship between village government and social welfare in Indian states.

摘要

Does the decentralization of political power to village governments impact social wellbeing? If so, what types of village governments are more effective at managing and implementing social programs aimed at improving wellbeing? This dissertation seeks to answer those questions by analyzing the differential functioning of decentralized institutions in three Indian states after a 1993 constitutional amendment mandated political decentralization. Village-level research in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka explores the linkages between local governments and social wellbeing and contrasts these findings with other studies of the same villages from the early 1990s.; Differences in the functioning of local government propel the variation in social wellbeing. Democratically-functioning local governments with the power and willingness to oversee social program implementation, as well as local governments which are accountable, increase social welfare. They do this by bringing government closer to the people, by better targeting social welfare programs, and by reinforcing awareness of rights. A state history of effective decentralization prior to the national law is not enough to guarantee that local governments will continue to function effectively and deliver social services to the neediest. When local governments are co-opted by local elites---be they social, economic or political elites---they are likely to be biased in their management and delivery social services. The biased management of social welfare programs results in poorly targeted social welfare programs, thereby eroding the programs' net impact on social wellbeing. Conversely, when local governments are not captured by dominant local groups, they are able to function as mandated, targeting social welfare programs to the neediest and thereby improving social wellbeing. Thus local governments are most likely to positively impact local wellbeing if they function democratically, if they are not co-opted by local interest groups, and if they are held accountable by the local citizenry.