Thirsty cities : social contracts and public goods provision in China and India / Selina Ho.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ho, Selina, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public goods.

Social contract.

China--Economic policy.

China.

Economic policy.

India--Economic policy.

India.

Physical Description:

xv, 295 pages : charts ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Summary:

"Why does authoritarian China provide a higher level of public goods than democratic India? Studies based on regime type have shown that the level of public goods provision is higher in democratic systems than in authoritarian forms of government. However, public goods provision in China and India contradicts these findings. Whether in terms of access to education, healthcare, public transportation, and basic necessities, such as drinking water and electricity, China does consistently better than India. This book argues that regime type does not determine public goods outcomes. Using empirical evidence from the Chinese and Indian municipal water sectors, the study explains and demonstrates how a social contract, an informal institution, influences formal institutional design, which in turn accounts for the variations in public goods provision"--Publisher's description.

Why does authoritarian China provide a higher level of public goods than democratic India? Studies based on regime type have shown that the level of public goods provision is higher in democratic systems than in authoritarian forms of government. However, public goods provision in China and India contradicts these findings. Whether in terms of access to education, healthcare, public transportation, and basic necessities, such as drinking water and electricity, China does consistently better than India. This book argues that regime type does not determine public goods outcomes. Using empirical evidence from the Chinese and Indian municipal water sectors, the study explains and demonstrates how a social contract, an informal institution, influences formal institutional design, which in turn accounts for the variations in public goods provision.

Contents:

Public goods provision in China and India

Social contracts, institutional design, and public goods provision

The Chinese social contract

The Indian social contract

Comparing China's and India's water institutional frameworks

Quenching thirst in China's first-tier cities: Shenzhen and Beijing

Water constraints in India's megacities: New Delhi and Hyderabad

Conclusion: types of social contracts and can social contracts change?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 260-283) and index.

ISBN:

1108427820

9781108427821

OCLC:

1045178776