Inefficiency and institutional issues in the provision of merit goods: A case study of public water supply in rural Kerala

This paper discusses the issues of inefficiency in the provision of merit goods, taking the case of public water supply in rural Kerala. The analysis has identified two source of inefficiency in the provision of merit good. First, is due to the fact that the state and its agencies autonomously decide the nature and characteristics of the merit good. If the nature of good provided is not preferred by the people, or its consumption require effort on the part of citizens, these may lead to the non-consumption of the good by a large number of people. Thus, the definition of safe water as pipe water (from a centralised system) in the case of Kerala, lead to its effective non-use by a significant part of rural population. The second source of inefficiency in the provision of merit good, is in the selection of the institutional framework. The acquisition and free distribution of water by the state agency, is the prevailing institutional framework in Kerala, and this is inappropriate in efficiently solving the drinking water problem of different localities, taking their specific characteristics into account. The paper outlines a logical framework, which can be used to identify the necessary mechanism of government intervention in water supply in different localities.merit good; rural water supply; institutional choice and inefficiency; new institutional economics; Kerala

Inefficiency and institutional issues in the provision of merit goods : a case study of public water supply in rural Kerala

This paper discusses the issues of inefficiency in the provision of merit goods, taking the case of public water supply in rural Kerala. The analysis has identified two source of inefficiency in the provision of merit good. First, is due to the fact that the state and its agencies autonomously decide the nature and characteristics of the merit good. If the nature of good provided is not preferred by the people, or its consumption require effort on the part of citizens, these may lead to the non-consumption of the good by a large number of people. Thus, the definition of safe water as pipe water (from a centralised system) in the case of Kerala, lead to its effective non-use by a significant part of rural population. The second source of inefficiency in the provision of merit good, is in the selection of the institutional framework. The acquisition and free distribution of water by the state agency, is the prevailing institutional framework in Kerala, and this is inappropriate in efficiently solving the drinking water problem of different localities, taking their specific characteristics into account. The paper outlines a logical framework, which can be used to identify the necessary mechanism of government intervention in water supply in different localities. JEL Classification : H40, H42, R5

Environmental valuation and its implications on the costs and benefits of a hydroelectric project in Kerala, India

Although significant developments have taken place in the area of valuation of the environment, the gap between theoretical principles and their operationalisation still remains. This paper makes an attempt to contribute towards bridging this gap. It explores the ways of ‘doing’ environmental valuation in practice in the specific context of a proposed hydroelectric project. Valuation is done within the overall framework of cost-benefit analysis. In the process, a number of methodological issues in environmental cost-benefit analysis have been dealt with. JEL Classification : H 43 Key words: Hydroelectric project, environment, valuation, discount rate, social costs and benefit

Will a skills-inclusive education enable schooling for all?

Many concerned individuals perceive that the inadequate inclusion of skills in school education is harmful because it makes many children (or their parents) lose interest in schooling, takes children away from the traditional skills of the parents or community and is one of the reasons for the widespread unemployment of adults who have completed schooling in India. This is a complex issue and we need to look at the historical and international experience, including that of India, to understand this

O meio ambiente na Índia:

Este ensaio apresenta um levantamento dos principais problemas ambientais da Índia contemporânea e especula sobre a relação entre a esfera econômica (subdesenvolvimento) e os resultados ambientais. A continuação da pobreza e do subdesenvolvimento no país parece ter moldado a natureza dos problemas ambientais que a Índia enfrenta. A defecação em locais inapropriados e a queima de biomassa para cozinhar continuam a ser as principais fontes de poluição. Por outro lado, o crescimento econômico da Índia vem sendo impulsionado pelo setor de serviços e, portanto, a poluição industrial não aumentou a um nível esperado por um país em desenvolvimento, que vem testemunhando um crescimento econômico acima de 5% durante as últimas três décadas. O artigo conclui com uma visão sobre a possível relação entre desenvolvimento humano, meio ambiente e possíveis estratégias necessárias para o desenvolvimento sustentável

An intervention into the debates on ‘work-in-education’ and skill development in India

The paper analyses the debates surrounding `work’ as part, or as an outcome, of school education in India and argues that these have not reckoned adequately the socioeconomic reality of the corresponding times. The outcome of education depends on ideas and resources shaping its provisioning, and the use by the people. Colonial rulers provided a liberal schooling which did not aim at `schooling for all’ or imparting skills as part of schooling. Such an education was attractive to those children who were not working in agriculture or artisanal occupations for their livelihood or who belonged to a `rentier’ class. The lower opportunity cost of time for these children and the probability of getting a job in the colonial administration enabled this small section of society to opt for such a liberal schooling. It is in this context that Gandhi wanted to use work (or agricultural and artisanal skills) as a pedagogical tool for education. However, the majority of children who were bound to do such work then did not view formal schooling, which aimed at imparting these `skills’, attractive

Nitrogen ion beam synthesis of InN in InP (100) at elevated temperature

InN phase is grown in crystalline InP(100) substrates by 50 keV N+ implantation at an elevated temperature of 400 deg C followed by annealing at 525 deg C in N2 ambient. Crystallographic structural and Raman scattering studies are performed for the characterization of grown phases. Temperature- and power-dependent photoluminescence studies show direct band-to-band transition peak ~1.06 eV at temperatures <=150K. Implantations at an elevated temperature with a low ion beam current and subsequent low temperature annealing step are found responsible for the growth of high-quality InN phase.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, Journa

Dynamic Behavior of Geogrid-Reinforced Soil

Geosynthetic materials particularly geogrids are widely used as reinforcement and is a proven technology for enhancing the performance of the foundation soil system under monotonic loadings. But the dynamic behavior of the reinforced foundation soil has not been well understood so far, and therefore dynamic loads (square wave pulse) of frequencies 0.2, 0.4 and 1 hertz under an amplitude of displacement of 2mm have been studied by carrying out dynamic plate loading tests on both unreinforced and the reinforced sandy beds. The size of the square plate is 150mm x 150mm x 30mm

Encoding and retrieval in a CA1 microcircuit model of the hippocampus

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic accumulation of knowledge about the morphological, physiological and molecular characteristics, as well as connectivity and synaptic properties of neurons in the mammalian hippocampus. Despite these advances, very little insight has been gained into the computational function of the different neuronal classes; in particular, the role of the various inhibitory interneurons in encoding and retrieval of information remains elusive. Mathematical and computational models of microcircuits play an instrumental role in exploring microcircuit functions and facilitate the dissection of operations performed by diverse inhibitory interneurons. A model of the CA1 microcircuitry is presented using biophysical representations of its major cell types: pyramidal, basket, axo-axonic, bistratified and oriens lacunosummoleculare cells. Computer simulations explore the biophysical mechanisms by which encoding and retrieval of spatio-temporal input patterns are achieved by the CA1 microcircuitry. The model proposes functional roles for the different classes of inhibitory interneurons in the encoding and retrieval cycles