Upcoming Events

Who Speaks for the Poor?

By  Dr. Jeffery Hammer, Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in Economic Development

Princeton University
 
Date: Tuesday, September 7 2010, 11.30 to 1.00 PM.

Venue: Conference Hall II, Center for Policy Research, Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi

Abstract: A common fear about allowing decentralized decision making is that the poor and the vulnerable will be subject to either "elite capture" or the "tyranny of the majority". Therefore, agents of higher levels of government are needed to provide them protection against these forces. Using a survey intended to be a baseline for a local government support project in Karnataka, the paper attempts to shed light on this issue. It can't answer it, of course, but does raise some doubts about whose interests are most closely aligned with local majorities as well as marginalized groups.

II. Accountability Initiative will host a 4-day training workshop on core public finance principles from September 1-4, 2010.

The workshop is designed to give a better understanding on how the government functions, particularly from a fund flow perspective. Some of the modules of the course will include components on:

• Understanding government functioning
• Budgetary Practices in India ( provisions of the constitution, what is vote on account,  plan/non-plan budgets)
• Basics of Fiscal Decentralisation
• Practical Exercises on how to read a government budget.
• Understanding SSA in an Right to Education (RTE) context etc

Venue: Committee Room, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.