The paradoxes of empowerment: gendering NREGA in the rural landscape of India

Maiorano, Diego; Thapar‐Björkert, Suruchi; Blomkvist, Hans

doi:10.1080/09614524.2016.1119805

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Landowners claim that the scheme has caused an increase in wages (thus making farming unprofitable) 21 and that it has become difficult to find labourers during the agricultural peak season. 22 Moreover, dominant caste landlords resent the fact that the MGNREGA has contributed to the alteration of power relationships at the village level (Roy, 2014(Roy, , 2015Jakimov, 2014;Maiorano, Thapar-Björkert & Blomkvist, 2016). As one farmer we talked to put it: the MGNREGA 'is part of the system of injustice that the government created against the farmers.…”

Section: Political Incentivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralisation, clientelism and social protection programmes: a study of India’s MGNREGA

Maiorano

Das

Masiero

2018

Oxford Development Studies

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Does decentralisation promote clientelism? If yes, through whichmechanisms ? We answer these questions through an analysis of India's (and the world's) largest workfare programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), in two Indian states: Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh (AP). The two states adopted radically different implementation models: Rajasthan's decentralised one stands in contrast with Andhra Pradesh's centralised and bureaucracy-led model. Using a mixed method approach, we find that in both states local implementers have incentives to distribute MGNREGA work in a clientelistic fashion. However, in Rajasthan, these incentives are stronger, because of the decentralised implementation model. Accordingly, our quantitative evidence shows that clientelism is more serious a problem in Rajasthan than in AP.

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Section: Political Incentivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralisation, clientelism and social protection programmes: a study of India’s MGNREGA

Maiorano

Das

Masiero

2018

Oxford Development Studies

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“…The programme itself promotes inclusion of Dalits, but poor implementation of the programme denies the entitlement of Dalits and pushes them to the margins. MGNREGA has significantly increased the bargaining power of poor Dalit agricultural labours in relation to the landlord (Maiorano, Thapar-Björkert, & Blomkvist, 2016), but poor implementation of MGNREGA helps to maintain dominant societal power structure in the village. Dalits lose their bargaining power in terms of wages and working hours.…”

Section: State Welfare Programmes and Social Exclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caste and Discrimination in Welfare: Social Exclusion of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh

Pankaj

2019

Contemporary Voice of Dalit

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Dalits constitute one-fifth of the total Indian population and, being located at the bottom of the caste hierarchy, suffer from the acute problem of discrimination and exclusion in every sphere of society. Despite various government affirmative actions and policies, Dalits experience discrimination, which in turn lead to inaccessibility of welfare services among them. Based on the author’s engagement in field work for data collection,1 this article highlights that discrimination in welfare programme is not only caused by favouritism and corruption but also linked to the sociopolitical structure of the state and society. Through a dense analysis of the process of social exclusion in availability, accessibility and affordability of welfare programmes, this article examines the role of the state and society in the context of discrimination against Dalits in welfare programmes. This article deals with discrimination and exclusion of Dalits during the identification of beneficiaries and delivery of the state-sponsored welfare services. It specifically looks into the discriminatory mechanism in welfare programmes, particularly the programmes that are directly linked with poverty eradication and employment. This article uses the lens of social exclusion to examine caste discrimination in welfare programmes.

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“…However, it is mainly measured as an outcome, using proxy variables such as literacy, employment or income. This approach has been criticised as doing little more than equating agency expansion with its possible determinants (Maiorano et al, 2016; Sen, 1994). Maiorano et al (2016) illustrated, ‘Easy to quantify variables such as income and poverty levels are widely used to test … efficacy, whereas other critically important aspects (including empowerment processes) are either reduced to their quantifiable dimensions or are treated very superficially’ (p. 128).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Measuring empowerment as a process is fraught with complications. Kieffer (1984) noted its subjective nature; Zimmerman (1995) stressed its open-ended nature; Maiorano et al (2016), Narayan (2005) and Sen (1994) underscored that measuring processes is objectively difficult, ideally requiring data from at least two points in time; yet, such data are seldom available. The authors also underscored that although empowerment is qualitative by nature, its measurement excessively relies on quantitative methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empowerment Through Genuine Participation: Giving Voice to the Neglected Majority

Rwebugisa

Usinger

2021

Journal of Development Policy and Practice

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Empowerment is often a goal of community development projects aimed at poverty reduction; yet, ascertaining whether empowerment occurs can be elusive. This case study research examined the empowerment process. Thirty community partners participated in a three-year community-led initiative to improve public education in a rural northwest Tanzanian village. The initiative included capacity-building activities to enhance personal and collective agency. The findings from the analytic framework of self-determination theory indicated that the initiative simultaneously nurtured and satisfied community partners’ innate basic psychological needs of relatedness, competence and autonomy: hence affirmed their feelings of empowerment. Implications for the theory and practice are presented.

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The paradoxes of empowerment: gendering NREGA in the rural landscape of India

Cited by 13 publications

References 22 publications

Decentralisation, clientelism and social protection programmes: a study of India’s MGNREGA

Decentralisation, clientelism and social protection programmes: a study of India’s MGNREGA

Caste and Discrimination in Welfare: Social Exclusion of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh

Empowerment Through Genuine Participation: Giving Voice to the Neglected Majority

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