ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

1E.8. Provision of public goods through participatory planning: an experimental exploration of the
deliberative process
Rural areas in developing countries mostly suffer from a dramatic underprovision of public goods. The
widespread failure of central governments in meeting peoples’ demand led to a debate on the respective
advantages and risks of privatization and regulation, but a third option still needs to be seriously analyzed:
locally-based collective action to mobilize financial resources and local labour. This research project aims at
evaluating the potential of village meetings to mobilize collective action for the provision of local public goods,
in heterogeneous communities of rural India. Through variants of the public good game that will be played in
the ICRISAT villages, there is a plan to assess in which measure the possibility of deliberation facilitates the
realization of outcomes that are closer to the social optimum rather than the inefficient Nash equilibrium. The
weight of caste/income/gender inequality and social norms on the possibility of achieving higher social
efficiency throughout the deliberative process will be measured. The results could provide interesting
suggestions for policy improvements regarding the organization and delivery of responsibilities to Gram Sabhas
(GS), the grassroot institutions of decentralized economic planning according to the Indian Constitution.
Preliminary interviews in three VLS villages of Dokur (Mahboobnagar district in Andhra Pradesh), Shirapur and
Kalman (Sholapur district of Maharastra) were carried out to collect information regarding functioning and
performance of local Gram Panchayat (GP), tax collection and the need for public meetings in the villages.
Individuals were asked whether they performed any activity for the welfare of the village, especially as
volunteers, and whether they participated in public meetings (formal or informal) where matters of public
interest were discussed. The aim was to collect their perceptions on how decision-making was carried on in the
village on matters that regarded groups of people or the entire village population, to understand if they had the
option of participating in decision making, and to learn more about interaction and power balance between
people of different castes. Direct evidence on the amount of taxation that is locally extracted and the money
saved through voluntary labour in collective activities for cleaning and maintaining village infrastructure was
collected.
Documentation obtained in Maharashtra villages:
Annual state of accounts for 2005-06 of Shirapur and Kalman’s Panchayats with taxes collected by Gram
Sevaks, governmental transfers received, and public expenses in the villages;
Amount of taxation collected by Talathis for the State Revenue Department in Shirapur and Kalman, in financial
year 2005-06;
Official registration and minutes of Gram Sabhas conducted in Shirapur and Kalman in 2006;
Estimate of value of voluntary work provided by citizens of Kalman in 2002 during two weeks of activities to
clean the village (Sant Gadhge Baba Gram-Swachyta Abhiyan)
Collaborating Institutions and Scientists:
Siena University : Martina Pignatti Morano, Neri Salvadori, Samuel Bowles
Oxford University : Stefan Dercon
ICRISAT
: KPC Rao, MCS Bantilan
Priority 5D. Improving research and development options to reduce rural poverty and vulnerability
Output 1F. Changes in household economies in SAT Asia from 1975-2007 described from which a policy
package of management strategies (both ex-ante and ex-post) for mitigating the impact of risks inherent
in rainfed agriculture is developed by 2009 with associated capacity building for partners and policy
makers in SAT Asia. New knowledge generated annually will be shared with partners.
MTP Output Target 2006: VLS partners consortium developed and initiated for future joint efforts on research
to determine socio-economic mobility, agricultural and rural transformation
1F.1. Microlevel assessments of shifting livelihood strategies in the rural SAT using VLS approach in India
ongoing
Rural households have become more nucleated and the average family size declined from 8.37 to 5.10 over the
past 25 years. The literacy levels have improved sharply, particularly in case of women. The occupational
structure has become more diversified. Both the ownership and operational holdings have become much smaller
31