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Two Hundred and Fifty-Thousand Democracies: A Review of Village Government in India

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dc.contributor.authorGeorge, Siddharth
dc.contributor.authorRao, Vijayendra
dc.contributor.authorSharan, M. R.
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-05T17:45:10Z
dc.date.available2024-06-05T17:45:10Z
dc.date.issued2024-06-05
dc.description.abstractIn 1992, the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution created 250,000 village democracies (called Gram Panchayats) covering 800 million citizens. It mandated regular elections, deliberative spaces, and political reservations for women and disadvantaged castes. The unprecedented variation in democratic experience that emerged from this has resulted in a large body of research that provides insights into the intersection between democracy, governance, and development. This paper reviews this literature, showing that India’s democratic trajectory has been shaped by four broad forces: a 3,000 year tradition of debate and deliberation, colonial policies, the contrasting ideologies of central players in the formation of modern India—Gandhi and Ambedkar—and the 73rd Amendment. The paper distills key findings from the empirical literature on the effectiveness of local politicians and bureaucrats, political reservations, public finance, deliberative democracy, and service delivery. It concludes with a set of policy recommendations for improving the functioning of the Panchayats in India, emphasizing the need for greater devolution and improved local fiscal capacity. It also argues that urban governments in India would benefit from learning from the experience of Gram Panchayats.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099352506052423764/IDU19460152816e9c1407d1974312e8ea5706cd3
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10793
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/41662
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; 10793
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectDEMOCRACY
dc.subjectDELIBERATION
dc.subjectLOCAL GOVERNMENT
dc.subjectINDIA
dc.subjectPANCHAYATS
dc.subjectPEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS
dc.subjectSDG 16
dc.titleTwo Hundred and Fifty-Thousand Democraciesen
dc.title.subtitleA Review of Village Government in Indiaen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleTwo Hundred and Fifty-Thousand Democracies: A Review of Village Government in India
okr.date.disclosure2024-06-05
okr.date.lastmodified2024-06-05T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099352506052423764/IDU19460152816e9c1407d1974312e8ea5706cd3
okr.guid099352506052423764
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-94601528-6e9c-407d-9743-2e8ea5706cd3
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10793
okr.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10793
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34333958
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34333958
okr.identifier.reportWPS10793
okr.import.id4384
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099352506052423764/pdf/IDU19460152816e9c1407d1974312e8ea5706cd3.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeSouth Asia
okr.region.countryIndia
okr.topicGovernance::Democratic Government
okr.topicGovernance::Local Government
okr.topicGovernance::Regional Governance
okr.unitDECRG: Poverty & Inequality (DECPI)
relation.isAuthorOfPublication385fa299-94e8-5dcc-a817-90cf574a0ae2
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery385fa299-94e8-5dcc-a817-90cf574a0ae2
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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