The Accommodation of Democracy

In The Accommodation of Democracy, Thibaud Marcesse documents the implementation of the world''s largest publics works program--called the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme or NREGS--in India''s most populated state, Uttar Pradesh. Marshaling a mix of qualitative and quantitative data, he provides insights not just into the way social benefits are delivered to the rural poor in India but also how local democratic institutions work to either facilitate or constrain the delivery of these benefits. He further discusses the ways in which corruption shapes political relationships, particularly between government bureaucrats and local elected officials.