Clientelism may lead to the underprovision of services which are deemed suitable for decentralisation. Water distribution and drainage services, managed from a lower level of municipal authority, are liable to be affected by clientelism and consequent underprovision. Water quality, maintained from a higher municipal layer, is not likely to be affected by clientelism. Capture by politically influential and dominant social and religious groups is likely to take place for important services like water supply. The article suggests that awareness, measurability, importance and resource intensiveness of service are additional factors to be considered for assessing the suitability of a sector for decentralisation.
This article attempts to find the economic and non-economic factors determining sanitation coverage in a low income country like India. Based on National Sample Survey data of India, the analysis finds that income has a low impact, while non-economic factors have an equal or higher impact on access to and use of latrines. The number of household members has a negative impact on both access to and use of latrines. Access to and use of latrines depends on gender, age, and education of the household head. Both access and use also depend on the main occupation, religion, and caste of households. Access to water supply and dwelling materials also impacts access to and use of latrines. Households headed by younger people or those living in hired houses are more likely to access public or common latrines. Access to sanitation also depends on the region and hence the norms and customs of the region. Contrary to expectations, a lesser proportion of households have access to latrines if they own a house versus those who reside in hired dwellings. Quality, cleanliness of latrines and other personal preferences matter in the use of latrines. Public and community toilets for youths, more than one latrine for larger households, and social campaigning are suggested for public policy.
Purpose – The study attempts to look into the poverty and deprivation in slums across various social and religious groups and its bearing on the children. It not only analyses income poverty but also looks at derivation of access to basic services including water, sanitation and drainage. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the income and non-income deprivation of childbearing and non-childbearing households. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a survey of 541 sample households selected from 23 slums of Kolkata, India. The authors have adopted a mixture of cluster sampling and systematic sampling technique. The slums of Kolkata have been segregated into three regions and further segregated by overlaying the population and average monthly income of slums. Slums have been selected randomly from these stratums. Households have been selected from the slums by systematic sampling method. Findings – The Muslim and backward caste households are more deprived with respect to income and access to basic services as compared to Hindu general (upper) caste. Deprivations with respect to income and basic services are more pronounced for households having child than for households not having child. Childbearing households are less likely to receive better water supply, sanitation and drainage services as compared to others due to their religious and residential identities. Slum children get affected by the complex political economy of basic service delivery. The study also finds that electoral competition has positive and political clientelism has negative impact on access to basic services. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on results obtained from survey in one city of India. Hence, these results cannot be generalized for India or for the developing countries taken together. Further studies across cities of developing countries are required to arrive at any generalized conclusion. Practical implications – The study suggests that public policies should attempt to disentangle minorities and children from the local political economy. Otherwise, deprivation and disparity even across low income households living in slums would persist. Deprivation of child bearing households would lead to a deteriorating future for the slum children. Social implications – This paper have pave the path for new generation public policy for the urban poor and minorities. Originality/value – This paper highlights the incidence of deprivation of minorities and childbearing households vis-à-vis other households in the slums. It contributes to the overall understanding on urban poverty.
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