This study analyses the impact of democratic decentralisation on the chances of socially excluded groups to participate in newly created local governance institutions – Panchayati Raj Institutions – in three Indian states. This institutional reform included a quota for the disadvantaged – women and lower castes – to ensure their effective participation. The comparative analysis on the determinants of participation of these groups and the poor vis-à-vis other groups across the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh yields highly interesting results, relevant beyond the Indian context. First, the outcomes of decentralisation on participation are different across states and between different marginalised groups. While in Kerala socially disadvantaged groups and the poor are represented more than other groups at the Panchayat level, in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh the socially disadvantaged groups are as represented as the others whereas the poor continue to be largely ...

A partir de l’expérience de trois États indiens, ce document étudie l’impact de la décentralisation démocratique sur les chances des groupes exclus de participer aux toutes nouvelles institutions locales de gouvernance – les Panchayati Raj. Cette réforme institutionnelle avait instauré un système de quotas afin de garantir la participation effective des personnes défavorisées – les femmes et les membres des castes inférieures. Une analyse comparée des déterminants de la participation des exclus et des pauvres par rapport aux autres groupes dans ces trois États – le Kerala, le Tamil Nadu et le Madhya Pradesh – parvient à des résultats tout à fait intéressants et pertinents pour d’autres pays. Tout d’abord, les effets de la décentralisation sur la participation ont été différents d’un État à l’autre et entre groupes marginalisés. Si les groupes socialement défavorisés et les pauvres du Kerala sont mieux représentés que les autres au niveau du Panchayat, les premiers parviennent au ...

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Paper provided by OECD Development Centre in its series OECD Development Centre Working Papers with number 242.

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Date of creation: 31 Jan 2005
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Handle: RePEc:oec:devaaa:242-en

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

• NEP-ALL-2005-08-13 (All new papers)
• NEP-DEV-2005-08-13 (Development)

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