Despite India’s rapid economic growth, rural regions continue to experience deprivation and are yet to reap the benefits of growth. A group of economists at National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi are conducting research on ‘Decentralization, Rural governance and Inclusive Growth: Linkage and Implications’ to analyse various aspects of rural governance in an attempt to establish whether decentralization of governance and the creation of appropriate institutions are effective in achieving inclusive and pro-poor growth. Research shows, with greater decentralization, the satisfaction level of the target population with respect to delivery of public goods has certainly improved. In addition, when public goods are provided in a decentralised setting, the inefficiencies of fiscal transfers from higher to lower levels of governments could be greatly reduced, if not entirely eliminated. This project is funded by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, under the program “Globalization, Growth and Poverty”... More...