Decentralization and Human Welfare

Demands for greater subnational autonomy have been a point of contention within various countries. While considerable amount of research focuses on the determinants of decentralization, the question that remains unanswered is: should governments maintain the existing structure of their polities or further decentralize power to incorporate increasing demands for greater subnational autonomy? Decentralization entails a modification of existing political institutions and may result in far-reaching ramifications for citizens who are directly affected by these changes. However, theoretical insights from the literature provide an uncertain answer to this question. This research note calls for a new research agenda that analyzes the effects of decentralization on human well-being where administrative sub-units serve as the unit of analysis, thereby providing greater clarity to the ambiguous effects of decentralization. In an attempt to gear research in this direction, I provide a preliminary assessment of the consequences of recent trends toward decentralization within India.