Social sector in a decentralised economy: India in the era of globalisation

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.

Cover; Social Sector in a Decentralized Economy; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Tables, Figures, Boxes, Appendices; List of Abbreviations; Preface; 1. Unpacking Decentralization; Decentralization: From theory to process; Voice and exit; Elite capture; Asymmetric federalism and intergovernmental competition; Asymmetric information; Accountability framework of decentralized service delivery; Five facets of accountability framework of decentralized service delivery; Three pillars of accountability in service provisioning; Decentralization and accountability link; Partial decentralization

2. Decentralization in Service Delivery: Empirical EvidencesDegree of decentralization; Empirical evidences: Decentralization in service delivery; De facto versus de jure decentralization; 3. Decentralization in India: History, Laws and Politics; Historical background and political motivation of decentralization in India; The First Five Year Plan; The Second Five Year Plan; The Third, Fourth and Fifth Five Year Plans; The Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Five Year Plans and the Annual Plans, 1989-1991; The Ninth Five Year Plan; Decentralized mechanisms of health and education service delivery

Legal status of decentralization in IndiaConstitutional reform in education and health service delivery in India; What and how to decentralize: Enabling conditions; Appendix 3A.1; Appendix 3A.2; 4. Local-level Fiscal Decentralization: State Finance Commissions and Devolution; Interpreting the legal and fiscal fiats of SFC; Analyzing the selected SFCs of India; Karnataka SFCs recommendations; West Bengal SFCs recommendations; Critique of SFCs; Delay in constituting SFCs and consequent delays in report submission; Quality of SFC reports; Policy suggestions and way ahead

5. Decentralization of EducationThe status of schooling in India; Quantitative expansion; Quality of education; Organization of education: Towards decentralized public management; Educational reforms at the state level: Two contrasting models; Research evidence on decentralization and education in India; 6. Decentralization in Health Service Delivery; Link between health spending and health sector outcome; What determines health outcome?; Interpreting selected state level health sector outcome; Health sector diagnosis: Issues and challenges

Decentralized health care system in India: Federal fiscal financing of health sectorConstitutional domain of health: Financial and functional assignments; Fiscal transfers in health; Health equalization grants; Effectiveness of decentralization on health sector delivery; Decentralizing health services: Cross-country evidence; Decentralizing health services: Recent empirical evidence from India; Locus of decision-making: Understanding a decentralized flagship programme on health in India; Locus of decentralized decision m: Link between PRIs and health care system