In Quest of Humane Development: Human Development, Community Networking and Public Service Delivery in India (India Studies in Business and Economics)

This book presents a multidimensional perspective on the interlinkage between human development, community characteristics and public service delivery with special reference to India. The chapters in the book analyze the influence of public service delivery on human development from neo-classical as well as Marxian point of view. Thus, the expositions in the book provides a balanced mix of macro and micro approaches in the study of development. The analytical discussions are supplemented by case studies and empirical estimates so as to demonstrate the applicability of the theory and the theoretical discourse about human development, community network and the success and failures of critical public services in the Indian context. The methodology followed in the chapters involves critical survey of existing literature, case studies, field survey and use of econometric techniques as well as statistical tools of index construction. While contributors are primarily scholars from neo-classical economics discipline, some are intellectuals from the field of political economy and development studies. Given the wide array of development perspectives, this book is of interest not only to students and researcher of development economics, social science and management, but also a valuable reading for development practitioners and policy makers, who would be interested in understanding how community and public institutions interact to determine access to health, education and social security services that shapes the wellbeing of disadvantaged populations. The lessons and implications are extremely pertinent to other emerging economies, in particular those in South Asia. Acknowledgements Book Blurb Contents About the Editors List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction References Part I Perspectives on Human Development 2 Is the Notion of Human Development Capitalocentric? 2.1 Idea of Human Development as It Has Evolved Through the Contour of Development 2.2 Sen’s Idea of Development as Freedom 2.3 Critique of Human Development in the Light of Class Focused Approach 2.4 Critique of Development as Freedom References 3 Eleven Theses on the Humanization of Development: ‘Praxis Philosophy’ in World of the Third 3.1 From Growth to Human Development 3.2 From Under-Developed to Differently Developed 3.3 From Third World to World of the Third 3.4 World of the Third Subject 3.5 From Data to Experience 3.6 Learning to Learn from Below 3.7 Being in the Polis 3.8 Philosophers Have Hitherto Only Interpreted the World in Various Ways; The Point is to Change It 3.9 Knowing-Being-Doing 3.10 From Critique to Reconstruction 3.11 Praxis Philosophy References 4 Measuring Human Development at Sub-National Level: Methods and Application 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Measuring Development 4.2.1 The Concept of Development 4.2.2 Indicators of Development 4.2.3 The Human Development Index 4.3 Human Development at Sub-National Level—Application 4.3.1 Backdrop and Database 4.3.2 SHDI Using UNDP Method—District Level Study of West Bengal 4.4 Limitations of Traditional Methodology 4.5 In Quest for an Alternate Methodology 4.5.1 Selection of Indicators 4.5.2 Method of Normalisation and Computing Domain Indices 4.5.3 Method of Aggregation 4.5.4 Application 4.6 Conclusion 4.6.1 Comparing the Two Methodologies 4.6.2 Policy Issues References Part II Delivery of Public Services in India 5 Deliver and Destroy? Communities and Access to Public Goods in India 5.1 Communitization 5.2 Destruction 5.2.1 Pedagogy of Development 5.2.2 Public Good Perspective 5.2.3 Accessibility Endowments 5.3 Contest References 6 Delivery of Safe Drinking Water in Rural India: An Appraisal of Public Water Supply Initiatives 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Rural Drinking Water Supply in India: An Appraisal 6.2.1 Centralized Water Supply Initiatives 6.2.2 Era of Decentralized Water Delivery 6.3 Data and Estimation Strategy 6.3.1 Econometric Model 6.4 Results and Discussions 6.5 Concluding Observations References Part III Education, Health and Social Security for Human Development 7 Higher Education in Quest of Humane Development: Envisaging the Future in the Post-COVID Era 7.1 Introduction 7.2 School Education as a Foundation for Higher Education 7.3 Role of Higher Education 7.3.1 Higher Education as a Quasi-Public Good 7.3.2 Knowledge as a Public Good 7.3.3 Public Good, Public Sphere, and Public Funding 7.4 Transformation of Higher Education 7.4.1 The Introduction of Digital Technology 7.4.2 Changing Demand for Skill and Lifelong Learning 7.4.3 Doing Research and Generating Knowledge 7.4.4 Downsides 7.5 Envisioning the Future of Higher Education 7.6 Factors Undermining Publicness of Higher Education 7.6.1 Students as Customers and Failure of Credential Signaling 7.6.2 Marketization and Privatization of Higher Education 7.7 What This Transformation Means for Humane Development 7.7.1 Access and Equity in the Context of Growing Differentiation 7.7.2 Higher Education as a Global Public Good 7.7.3 Higher Education as a Common Good 7.8 Concluding Remarks 7.8.1 Distinguishing Between Positive and Normative Approach 7.8.2 Public–Private Divide is not Zero–Sum 7.8.3 Participation in Public Sphere 7.8.4 Changing Notion of Quality, Changing Motive for Knowledge Generation References 8 The Effect of Employment Guarantee Scheme on School Attendance in Rural India 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Data and Estimation Strategy 8.3 Estimation Results 8.4 Conclusion References 9 Health and Well-Being of the Elderly People Before and After COVID-19 Outbreak: A Survival Challenge in West Bengal, India 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Literature Review 9.3 Objective 9.4 Selection of Study Area 9.5 Sample Selection and Data 9.5.1 Variable: Outcome Variable 9.5.2 Related Variables 9.6 Methodology 9.6.1 Calculation of Combined Indices Through Principle Component Analysis (PCA) 9.6.2 Specification of the Relative Importance Among and Within the Input Category 9.7 Results and Analysis 9.7.1 Comparative Features Overall HUI Among Elderly in Between Old-Age Home and Outside Old-Age Home Before COVID-19 Pandemic 9.7.2 Comparative Value of Overall HUI Among Elderly in Between Inside Old-Age Home and Outside Old-Age Home 9.7.3 Relative Importance of Sub-grouped Factors in Explaining HUI of Elderly 9.7.4 Comparative Features Health and Well-Being During COVID-19 Pandemic Among Elderly in Between Inside and Outside Old-Age Home 9.8 Findings and Conclusions References 10 Experience of Social Security for Unorganized Workers in West Bengal 10.1 Social Security Initiatives 10.1.1 Justifications for Social Security Initiatives 10.1.2 Progression of Social Protection Policies in India 10.1.3 Composition of Workforce in India 10.1.4 Features of Enterprises in West Bengal 10.1.5 Employment Conditions in Informal Sector of India and West Bengal 10.1.6 Social Security Initiatives by the Government of West Bengal 10.2 COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Security Measures Adopted by the Government 10.2.1 Why Lockdown? 10.2.2 Social Security Measures 10.3 Conclusions References 11 Backward Regions Grant Fund and Its Utilization: A Case Study in the District of Adilabad, Erstwhile Andhra Pradesh 11.1 Introduction 11.1.1 Objectives of the Study 11.2 Implementation of BRGF 11.2.1 Fund Allotment 11.2.2 Planning the Projects 11.3 Case Study 11.3.1 Selection of the Study Area 11.3.2 Availability of Data 11.3.3 Allocation of Development Fund 11.3.4 Utilization of Fund 11.3.5 Problems in Planning 11.4 Conclusion Appendix References Part IV Gender and Human Development 12 Understanding Costs of Violence Against Women and the Need for Contextualisation 12.1 Violence Against Women and Girls: Prevalence 12.2 Definition and Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls 12.3 Consequences and Cost of Violence Against Women and Girls 12.4 Preventive Strategies and Policy Formulation—Need for Contextualisation 12.5 Conclusion References 13 Women’s Labour Force Participation in India and Continuing Gender Inequality: A Reflection of 15 Major States in India in the Reform Era 13.1 Literature Survey 13.1.1 Trends 13.1.2 Descriptive Trends 13.2 Method 13.2.1 Results 13.3 Decomposition Framework 13.3.1 Decomposition Result 13.4 Conclusion Bibliography Part V Financing for Human Development 14 Backward Regions Grant Fund: Is the Allocation Justified? 14.1 Introduction 14.1.1 Identifying Backward Districts 14.1.2 Intra-District Allocation of Funds Under BRGF 14.2 A Brief Survey of Literature 14.3 Study Area, Data and Methodology 14.4 Results 14.5 Conclusion Appendix References 15 Private Provision of Public Goods Through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India 15.1 Introduction 15.2 CSR Law in India 15.3 Economic Rationale for CSR 15.4 Co-production 15.5 Methodology 15.6 CSR Expenditure in India 15.7 Case Studies of CSR Project 15.7.1 CSR in Public Health 15.7.2 CSR in Education 15.7.3 CSR in Environment and Livelihood 15.8 COVID-19 and CSR 15.9 Discussion and Conclusion References