Caste, ‘Cleanliness’ and Cash: Effects of Caste-Based Political Reservations in Rajasthan on a Sanitation Prize
— Research, Sanitation — 1 min read
Authors: Sneha Lamba, Dean Spears
Published in: Journal of Development Studies
Abstract:
Even compared with neighbouring countries, latrine use is especially uncommon in India. How might caste – historically associated with sanitation inequality – interact with government sanitation policy? Using data from Rajasthan state, we investigate the effect of caste-based reservations for village chairmen elected in 2005 on the likelihood of winning the government’s Clean Village Prize by mid 2012.
This prize is a large cash award for villages in which open defecation has been eliminated; thus it is intended to be a prize for both latrine construction and use. Villages randomly assigned to a Scheduled (low-ranking) Caste chairman are less likely to win the prize.