Rethinking Public Institutions in India
Devesh Kapur, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and Milan Vaishnav
Abstract
Over the past quarter century, India has experienced transformative changes in the realms of the economy, foreign policy, politics, and society. Despite these historic shifts, India’s public institutions have not enjoyed a similar transformation. Yet, the ability of government to address challenges from corruption to urbanization will fundamentally define India’s trajectory in the 21st century. This volume examines the institutional foundations of the Indian state and the organizational and institutional context in which it operates. By drawing on the insights of some of the most knowledgeable ... More
Over the past quarter century, India has experienced transformative changes in the realms of the economy, foreign policy, politics, and society. Despite these historic shifts, India’s public institutions have not enjoyed a similar transformation. Yet, the ability of government to address challenges from corruption to urbanization will fundamentally define India’s trajectory in the 21st century. This volume examines the institutional foundations of the Indian state and the organizational and institutional context in which it operates. By drawing on the insights of some of the most knowledgeable scholars and practitioners with deep knowledge of the Indian state, it explores the critical issue of state capacity across four domains: oversight and restraint, the economy, accountability, and policy implementation. Each chapter provides an analytical account of how an institution or set of institutions—from parliament to the Reserve Bank of India—recruit talent, organize themselves to motivate performance, and interact with other agencies. The book not only provides an analytical and empirically-driven framework for understanding India’s institutional evolution but it also offers lessons for reform-minded policymakers and practitioners.
Keywords:
state capacity,
public institutions,
India,
governance,
transparency,
political economy,
economic reform,
civil administration,
corruption
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2017 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199474370 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: May 2017 |
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780199474370.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Devesh Kapur, editor
Madan Lal Sobti Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, editor
President, Center for Policy Research
Milan Vaishnav, editor
Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
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