This paper analyzes the inter-state imbalances in three major sectors of the economy, namely, education, health and family welfare, and water supply and sanitation for fifteen major states. It uses two principal indicators namely the per capita GSDP (reflecting the disparity in fiscal capacity...

The record of different post reform governments in meeting their targets and improving both delivery and finances is assessed. A variety of indices are constructed, and consistency checks devised to measure relative performance.

This paper surveys 160 cases where biometric identification has been used for economic, political, and social purposes in developing countries. About half of these cases have been supported by donors. Recognizing the need for more rigorous assessments and more open data on performance, the paper...

Migration can serve as an outlet for employment, higher earnings, and reduced income risk for households in developing countries. The 2004–2005 Human Development Profile of India survey is used to examine correlations between the receipt of remittances from internal migrants and human...

It is critical to emphasize that intergovernmental fiscal relations must be thought of as a system and that all the pieces in the system must fit together if decentralization is to work properly. Various theories and experiences strongly suggest that if fiscal decentralization is to produce...

The Policy Paper seeks to give voice to a local government vision on financing and stems from a shared understanding of the challenges we face. The Policy Paper contains 25 concrete recom- mendations for increasing local government access to infrastructure financing, particular- ly in developing...

This study, entitled “Municipal Finance in India – An Assessmentâ€, undertaken for the Development Research Group (DRG), Reserve Bank of India examines the performance of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in India. Using data from 35 Metropolitan Municipal Corporations, the study...

In convening the third session of the World Urban Forum in Vancouver, the United Nations Human Settlements Program has asked us to focus our attention on the Sustainable City and consider critical challenges across three sub-themes: • Urban Growth And Environment• Partnership And...

This paper attempts to analyse the benefit incidence of health spending in the context of India. Benefit incidence analysis (hereafter BIA) is used here. This is a methodology that addresses this question. It brings together the elements of the supply of and demand for public services and can...