An assessment of the public confidence in governance institutions in India : empirical evidence using IHDS survey

Using two rounds of the Indian Human Development Survey (2004-05 & 2011-12), this study evaluates levels of household confidence in the governance institutions across Indian states. The observed broad pattern conveys that although there is a marginal improvement (from 0.582 in 2004-05 to 0.602 in 2011-12) in the confidence in the governance institutions, there still exists a great deal of deficit in it. analysing the socioeconomic determinants of the degree of confidence, we find that over time regional identities along with class, caste, and other attributes shape the levels of confidence in governance institutions. Such an observation leads to an inference that improvement in confidence in governance institutions is responsive to the development divide across regions.