Social fragmentation and public goods: polarization, inequality and patronage in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

Catherine Bros

Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) from HAL

Abstract: A vast recent literature has stressed social fragmentation's negative impact on the provision of public goods. It has been established theoretically that social fragmentation engenders discord and thereby undermines public goods provision. Empirical research has produced mixed results about this relationship. On the one hand it rarely holds for all the goods and on another hand it appears attenuated at the micro-level. Three points ought to be considered. First, the negative role attributed to social fragmentation rests upon the actuality of a relationship between social antagonisms and ethnic diversity. Yet, such an actuality is to be proved. Second, should such a relationship exist, polarization indices would be more appropriate than the traditional fractionalization index used so far in the literature. Third, theoretical works have set aside the possibility of ethnic patronage in accessing public goods. Nevertheless, it is a central issue as patronage is common in developing countries. In this event, a positive relationship could be found between social fragmentation and the presence of public goods. This article aims at showing that such a positive relationship does exist, at least in parts of India, as a consequence of caste patronage. It also shown that polarization is irrelevant as social antagonisms do not seem to be an obstacle to the provision of public goods.

Keywords: Political economy; patronage; public goods; collective action; inequality; caste; India.; Economie politique; biens publics; action collective; inégalités; castes; Inde. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-03
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00476016v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published in 2010

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Related works:
Working Paper: Social fragmentation and public goods: polarization, inequality and patronage in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (2010)
Working Paper: Social fragmentation and public goods: polarization, inequality and patronage in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (2010)
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