Just rewards? Local politics and public resource allocation in South India

Besley, Timothy, Pande, Rohini and Rao, Vijayendra (2007) Just rewards? Local politics and public resource allocation in South India. DEDPS 49. Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

This paper uses data on elected village councils in South India to examine the political economy of public resource allocation. We find that the pattern of policy-making reflects politicians' self-interest. Elected councillors benefit from improved personal access to public resources. In addition, the head councillor's group identity and residence influences public resource allocation. While electoral incentives do not eliminate politician opportunism, voters appear able to use their electoral clout to gain greater access to public resources.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2007 the authors
Uncontrolled Keywords:	decentralization, India, Panchayat
Library of Congress subject classification:	J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia H Social Sciences > HJ Public Finance
Journal of Economic Literature Classification System:	O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government > H11 - Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations > H76 - State and Local Government: Infrastructures; Procurement; Public Safety; Penal Systems; Other Expenditure Categories
Sets:	Collections > Economists Online Departments > Economics Research centres and groups > Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD)
Rights:	http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/rights/LSERO.htm
Identification Number:	DEDPS 49
URL:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/3763/

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