Centre for Development Policy and Management

Impact of Indian Social Policies to Reduce Poverty and to Mitigate Social Exclusion Research Team – Prof. Vandana Swami, Prof. Rezina Sultana and Prof. William (Sandy) Darity Jr.
Funded by – Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, Duke University and Vidya Bhawan Society

Abstract - This proposal seeks support for a collaborative research team Including scholars and practitioners from the Indian Institute of Management at Udaipur, the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, the Indian Institute for Dalit Studies, the Vidya Bhawan Society, and the Delhi School of Economics. The team will conduct a three-year study focused on two major Indian social policies which address poverty and social exclusion. The two social policies that will constitute the focus of the study are affirmative action (hereafter AA) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (hereafter NREGA). The research team is particularly interested in exploring the efficacy of each of these programs on Dalits and tribals. In addition, the study will produce data that will enable the research team to investigate the presence and impact of colorism and the operation of discrimination on life outcomes for respondents. The core activities of the project will be the administration of a survey to 1000 households in the Udaipur district with an oversampling of Dalits and tribals and the administration of 50 in-depth interviews with Dalits and tribals who have been identified as beneficiaries of the affirmative action program. A long-term objective includes the design of a survey instrument that can be used flexibly in the future for a re-survey of same households to pursue a longitudinal investigation of the effects of the two social policies and the further evolution of processes of colorism and discrimination in India. In addition, the survey instrument also will be designed so that it can be for similar studies in other parts of India or at the national level.

Baseline Study on the Key Development Indicators among the Sahariya Tribe in Baran District, Rajasthan Research Team – Prof. Janat Shah and Prof. Vandana Swami
Funded by – Indian Institute of Management Udaipur and Tribal Area Development Udaipur

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Understanding Complementarities across Environmental Health Interventions Research Team – Prof. Subhadip Roy, Prof. Janat Shah, Prof. Marc Jeuland and Ms. Priyanka Singh
Funded by – Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, Duke University and Seva Mandir Udaipur Abstract

Abstract - Despite recent progress in reducing the global burden of disease related to the environment, the poorest populations of the world continue to face considerable risks from indoor air and water pollution. The goal of our pilot project in Rajasthan is to contribute to a better understanding of the nature of this challenge, by focusing on the idea that strategic complementarities (across behaviors, implementation of interventions, and disease risks) may contribute to health‐poverty traps. In particular, our objective is to build an interdisciplinary research collaboration between three institutions with complementary strengths (Duke University, the Indian Institute of Management‐Udaipur, and Seva Mandir), in order to better understand the factors that drive adoption of Improved Cookstoves (ICS), and to measure the effects of exposure to ICS interventions on the demand for household water and sanitation improvements. We will implement a rigorous research design coupled with the application of a series of analytical techniques to study these issues. Our expectation is that the pilot project will contribute learning that is relevant for cross‐site comparisons with other Duke ICS studies, and for creation of larger‐scale ICS projects and research proposals that interface well with national and global efforts to improve environmental health outcomes, such as the Clean Development Mechanism and the Indian government's National Biomass Cookstoves Initiative.

Clientelism, Public Services and Elections in the Slums of Udaipur Research Team – Prof. Subhash Jha, Prof. Eric Wibbels and Alka Vyas
Funded by – Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, Duke University and Jan Daksha Trust Udaipur

Abstract - This project aims to understand two key questions. First, how does clientelism work in the developing world? Second, how do clientelistic relationships impact the capacity of the poor to gain access to basic public services? Though standard models of democracy rely on an idealized vision of programmatic party competition with voters casting ballots on the basis of ideology, policy, and assessments of competence, we know that for many of the world's poor, democratic politics is characterized by clientelistic exchange. Most work on clientelism has assumed that it operates via a one-off, direct exchange between individual voters and a politician or broker. We believe there are several problems with this standard account. Most importantly, poor voters tend to be clustered together in neighborhoods, and this simple fact has important implications for how clientelism operates and who among the poor receive public services. We conceptualize slums as social networks characterized by voters and local political brokers who know each other. That clientelism is embedded in a neighborhood context means that it should be studied at the slum level using group-based models rather than as a series of aspatial, individual-level exchanges. If we understand neighborhoods (e.g. slums) as social networks, their political and social organization is very much relevant for the study of clientelism and has important implications for who among the poor receives access to basic public services. We propose to study slum politics by conducting a panel of network surveys in four slums in Udaipur. The first wave will take place in June of 2013. We will run the second round of surveys during the forthcoming election in an effort to understand how electoral mobilization works in slums. We will conduct a final round of surveys a year later to see which, if any, electoral promises have been implemented by the winning party. We propose to conduct these surveys in conjunction with the Jan Daksha Trust, our partner NGO that works with migrants and the urban poor in Udaipur.

Assessing and Mapping Risk of Human Wildlife Conflicts Around Rajasthan Protected Areas Research Team – Dr. Krithi K. Karanth, Dr. Erika Weinthal, Dr. Subhashish Chakarvarty
Funded by – Indian Institute of Management Udaipur and Duke University

Abstract - Crop damage and livestock predation are among the most common human wildlife conflicts that occur globally and regionally in South Asia. Identifying risks and mitigating conflicts between people and wildlife is a top conservation priority. We propose to assess human wildlife conflicts around eight protected areas (PAs) in Rajasthan: Kumbhalgarh, Sitamata, Jaisamand, Phulwari, Jessore, Ambaji, Kamalnath and Mount Abu wildlife sanctuaries. The project will identify and map risks and consequences for local people and implications for conflict prone wildlife species (e.g. wild pig, nilghai, sambar, leopard and tiger). Field methods will include 1600 household surveys, interviews and mapping exercises. Logistic regression and Bayesian approaches will be used to model and compare best models and predictors and subsequently will be used to develop risk maps. Key goals are to identify what characteristics and features (e.g., land use patterns, changing climate patterns, household practices, institutional mechanisms, and levels of social capital) are associated with higher rates of conflict and what remedial measures might be implemented to protect property and lives while minimizing conflict and sustaining wildlife. Project outcomes include disseminating results, maps and engaging with forest department and park staff, as well as local civil-­‐society organizations to develop workable conflict mitigation solutions and improve existing compensation programs for areas and households most affected by human wildlife conflicts. Results will be applicable to other regions experiencing similar conflicts in India and elsewhere. Karanth has similar work ongoing in six PAs the Western Ghats and Central India as well as grassland regions in four Indian States. Comparisons with these two regions will provide valuable insights for conflict mitigation and monitoring across India. Weinthal has ongoing projects elsewhere (e.g., in Ethiopia) on understanding the linkages between institutional design/social capital, climatic change, and conflict. Chakravarty is interested in the construction of the risk maps using Bayesian approaches. The earlier work done by Karanth in PAs will be used as prior information in model building and model averaging to compute spatial posterior estimates of risk using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. The comparison of frequents and Bayesian approaches will provide additional insights into the factors that drive the conflict.