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

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

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

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

Assessment of the scale, coverage and outcomes of the Avahan HIV prevention program for female sex workers in Tamil Nadu, India: is there evidence of an effect?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Avahan, the India AIDS Initiative, a large-scale HIV prevention program, using peer-mediated approaches and STI services, was implemented for high-risk groups for HIV in six states in India. This paper describes the assessment of the program among female sex workers (FSWs) in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An analytical framework based on the Avahan impact evaluation design was used. Routine program monitoring data, two rounds of cross-sectional biological and behavioural surveys among FSWs in 2006 (Round 1) and 2009 (Round 2) and quality assessments of clinical services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were used to assess trends in coverage, condom use and prevalence of STIs, HIV and their association with program exposure. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine trends in intermediate outcomes and their associations with intervention exposure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Avahan program in Tamil Nadu was scaled up and achieved monthly reported coverage of 79% within four years of implementation. The cross-sectional survey data showed an increasing proportion of FSWs being reached by Avahan, 54% in Round 1 and 86% in Round 2 [AOR=4.7;p=0.001]. Quality assessments of STI clinical services showed consistent improvement in quality scores (3.0 in 2005 to 4.5 in 2008). Condom distribution by the program rose to cover all estimated commercial sex acts. Reported consistent condom use increased between Round 1 and Round 2 with occasional (72% to 93%; AOR=5.5; p=0.001) and regular clients (68% to 89%; AOR=4.3; p=0.001) while reactive syphilis serology declined significantly (9.7% to 2.2% AOR=0.2; p=0.001). HIV prevalence remained stable at 6.1% between rounds. There was a strong association between Avahan exposure and consistent condom use with commercial clients; however no association was seen with declines in STIs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Avahan program in Tamil Nadu achieved high coverage of FSWs, resulting in outcomes of improved condom use, declining syphilis and stabilizing HIV prevalence. These expected outcomes following the program logic model and declining HIV prevalence among general population groups suggest potential impact of high risk group interventions on HIV epidemic in Tamil Nadu.</p

Neuron splitting in compute-bound parallel network simulations enables runtime scaling with twice as many processors

Neuron tree topology equations can be split into two subtrees and solved on different processors with no change in accuracy, stability, or computational effort; communication costs involve only sending and receiving two double precision values by each subtree at each time step. Splitting cells is useful in attaining load balance in neural network simulations, especially when there is a wide range of cell sizes and the number of cells is about the same as the number of processors. For compute-bound simulations load balance results in almost ideal runtime scaling. Application of the cell splitting method to two published network models exhibits good runtime scaling on twice as many processors as could be effectively used with whole-cell balancing