In this definitive history, a key figure in the People's Campaign in Kerala provides an insider's account of one of the world's most extensive and successful experiments in decentralization. Launched in 1996, the campaign mobilized over 3 million of Kerala's 30 million people and resulted in bottom-up development planning in all 1,052 of its villages and urban neighborhoods. The authors detail the background of the campaign, trace its stages, assess problems and successes, and evaluate concrete results and reforms. Local Democracy and Development tells a powerful story of mass mobilization...

This ethnography of Nadur Village explores the ramifications of Kerala State's policy of wealth redistribution to achieve equality. The author shows a decline in income inequality and an improved quality of life for most villagers despite high unemployment, low incomes and the persistence of inequalities that redistribution has not overcome. This e

This ethnography of Nadur Village explores the ramifications of Kerala State's policy of wealth redistribution to achieve equality. The author shows a decline in income inequality and an improved quality of life for most villagers despite high unemployment, low incomes and the persistence of inequalities that redistribution has not overcome. This e