Poverty Reduction by Decentralisation: A Case for Rural Panchyats in Tamil Nadu

Sivagnanam, K. Jothi (2007): Poverty Reduction by Decentralisation: A Case for Rural Panchyats in Tamil Nadu.

Abstract

An attempt has been made in this paper to study the linkage between decentralisation and poverty reduction with special reference to panchayati raj institutions in Tamil Nadu. The policy implication of the study emphasises that the process of decentralisation should be designed and implemented so as to achieve required reduction in poverty. In the globalised era, decentralization has attracted significant interest in recent years. Decentralization is being seen as one of the missing institutional link between economic growth and distributive justice. Decentralisation is linked to poverty reduction in many ways. While decentralization has become a development strategy of many developing countries, its linkage to poverty reduction in particular has been the subject of recent time. In India, where social and rural sector are still backward and further affected by the ongoing liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation process, even high growth rates and innumerable poverty eradication schemes of the union as well as the state governments have failed to ensure distributive justice and left millions in sustained deprivation. Panchayati raj institutions could be a promising institutional link to combat poverty in terms of efficient designing and effective targeting.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Institution: Department of Economics, University of Madras, Chennai 600005, Tamil Nadu, Inidia.
• Language: English
• Keywords: Poverty Reduction; Decentralisation; Rural Panchayats; Tamil Nadu
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I38 - Government Policy ; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R5 - Regional Government Analysis > R51 - Finance in Urban and Rural Economies; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H75 - State and Local Government: Health ; Education ; Welfare ; Public Pensions

References

Sivagnanam, K. Jothi (2007),'Poverty Reduction by Decentralisation: A Case for Rural Panchyats in Tamil Nadu' paper to be presented at the forthcoming 90th Indian Economic Association’s Conference at University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 25-27 October 2007.