This book presents a multidimensional perspective on the interlinkage between human development, community characteristics and public service delivery with special reference to India. The chapters in the book analyze the influence of public service delivery on human development from neo-classical as well as Marxian point of view. Thus, the expositions in the book provides a balanced mix of macro and micro approaches in the study of development. The analytical discussions are supplemented by case studies and empirical estimates so as to demonstrate the applicability of the theory and the theoretical discourse about human development, community network and the success and failures of critical public services in the Indian context. The methodology followed in the chapters involves critical survey of existing literature, case studies, field survey and use of econometric techniques as well as statistical tools of index construction. While contributors are primarily scholars from neo-classical economics discipline, some are intellectuals from the field of political economy and development studies. Given the wide array of development perspectives, this book is of interest not only to students and researcher of development economics, social science and management, but also a valuable reading for development practitioners and policy makers, who would be interested in understanding how community and public institutions interact to determine access to health, education and social security services that shapes the wellbeing of disadvantaged populations. The lessons and implications are extremely pertinent to other emerging economies, in particular those in South Asia.
Professor Byasdeb Dasgupta has been teaching Economics at University of Kalyani since 1998. He obtained his doctoral degree from Centre for Studies in Economics and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi in International Economics. He has held visiting fellowship posts in various social science institutes in Europe and China, apart from India. His research area is political economy of labour, development and finance. He has edited and written many books on the above subjects, the most recent of which is ‘Capital’ in the East – Reflections on Marx' published by Springer in 2019.
Dr. Prasenjit Sarkhel has been teaching Economics at University of Kalyani since 2011. He obtained his doctoral degree in Economics from University of Calcutta. He is the recipient of Raman Fellowship for postdoctoral research in 2016. He was a visiting scholar at Virginia Polytechnic and State University and Columbia University, USA . Dr. Sarkhel's research has been published in various international and national journals on the issues pertaining to public policies in environment and health; he has also contributed in various edited volumes some of which have been published by Springer.
Professor Archita Ghosh has been teaching Economics at University of Kalyani since 1998. She obtained her doctoral degree in Economics from Jadavpur University. She has published in well-known journals and edited volumes on issues pertaining to social sector and public policies in India.
Ms. Bishakha Ghosh has been teaching Economics at University of Kalyani since 1996. Prior to this she was working for Reserve Bank of India. Her teaching and research interests include issues pertaining to international economics and public economics.
