Thirsty Cities: Social Contracts and Public Goods Provision in China and India

· Cambridge University Press
Ebook
313
Pages
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About this ebook

Why does authoritarian China provide a higher level of public goods than democratic India? Studies based on regime type have shown that the level of public goods provision is higher in democratic systems than in authoritarian forms of government. However, public goods provision in China and India contradicts these findings. Whether in terms of access to education, healthcare, public transportation, and basic necessities, such as drinking water and electricity, China does consistently better than India. This book argues that regime type does not determine public goods outcomes. Using empirical evidence from the Chinese and Indian municipal water sectors, the study explains and demonstrates how a social contract, an informal institution, influences formal institutional design, which in turn accounts for the variations in public goods provision.

About the author

Selina Ho is Assistant Professor of International Affairs at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. She researches and teaches Chinese politics and foreign policy, and the international relations of Asia. She has published peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and opinion pieces on China's relations with its neighbors in South, Southeast, and Central Asia, focusing on the politics of water and infrastructure development. Selina completed her Ph.D. at The Johns Hopkins University, The Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS), where she also received a Masters in International Public Policy (Honors). She has been appointed a Global Futures Council Fellow (Regional Governance) with the World Economic Forum.

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