Kerala'S Development Experiments And Experiences Are Of Profound Significance Throughout The Globe. This Handy Volume Is A Collection Of Twelve Papers Which Deals With Hetrogeneous Topics Ranging From Panchayati Raj, Municipal Administration, Financial Administration, Electoral Politics And Politics Of Development. These Papers Will Help To Throw Light On The Transformation Of The State Polity During The Recent Past. Papers Can Be Broadly Categorised Under Three Major Captions Politics Of Democracy, Decentralisation And Development. The Focus Of Attention In The First Five Chapters Is On The Inestimable Impact Of The Modern Political Forces Political Parties, Interest Groups And Pressure Groups On Kerala Polity. Special Attention Is Paid To Assess And Evaluate The Electoral Process, Voting Behaviour, Participation Of Women And Weaker Sections In Its Dynamism. Chapters Six To Eleven Depict On The Origin, Growth And Performance Of The Civic Bodies Both Rural And Urban On Kerala. This Part Is Of Paramount Importance Because Of The Adoption Of The 73Rd And 74Th Constitution Amendment Acts By The Centre And Its Ratification By The State. The Central Theme Of Discussion In The Concluding Chapter Is To Evaluate The Various Developmental Measures Carried Out By The State For The Upliftment Of Weaker Sections Of Kerala.

This book is an analytical examination of financing and public service delivery challenges in a decentralized framework. It also provides critical insights into the effectiveness of public expenditure, through benefit incidence analysis of education and healthcare services in India. The benefits of decentralization always come with conflicts and trade-offs. By unpacking the process of decentralization, the authors identify that 'unfunded mandates', arising from the asymmetry between finances and functions at local levels, are a major challenge. The analysis is carried out by distilling the existing studies in this area, and through an empirical investigation of public finance data at different public sector levels in India, as well as in some selected developing countries. Using the household survey statistics of consumption expenditure, an analysis of utilization or benefit incidence of public spending on social sectors in India is achieved, covering education and health sectors. This title is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Offering new insights into the political economy of contemporary India, this book considers how and why unequal patterns of economic growth have taken shape within the context of a democratic and decentralising political system, and how this has impacted upon the processes of economic development.