Articles by Samuel Paul

While exposing individual acts of corruption is to be lauded, and the guilty deserve to be punished, we need to recognise that this is but a small part of the actions necessary for controlling corruption. We as citizens are ambivalent about corruption and, more than anyone else, politicians have sensed the mixed signals given by the people on corruption. Is it any wonder that they loudly demand the scalp of the corrupt while quietly ignoring the systemic reforms essential for controlling corruption?

Samuel Paul Addressing the issue of corruption in the public sector, the article finds government monopoly, discretionary power it enjoys in decision-making and overall tack of accountability to be among some of the major factors contributing to corruption. The article argues that by reforming political process, reorienting government machinery, empowering citizens and creating public pressure, incentives and opportunities for corruption can be curtailed.

Report Card on Three Indian Cities Samuel Paul THERE is an abundance of studies on India's poverty alleviation programmes Not much is known, however, about how the poor have benefited from the public services that government has provided both in urban and rural areas.' Some of the services are infrastruciural and others entail basic civic amenities. In general, these services impact directly on the productivity of the poor and on their ability to take advantage of economic opportunities. Over the years, government has invested heavily in a variety of public service providers. The latter are usually evaluated in terms of their outlays, physical measures of output and financial returns. Whether in fact their services are actually being utilised by the poor and whether they meet felt needs adequately are not often asked by most evaluators. Consequently, the outcomes and effectiveness of public investments are not always monitored or fully known.

Privatisation and Deregulation Samuel Paul THE purpose of this note is to comment on some of the arguments and conclusions of Ashok Rudra in his response (EPW, May 16-23) to Kirit Farikh's critique of Rudra's article on 'Privatisation and Deregulation'. The Srinivasan-Rudra-Parikh debate on this subject has clarified a number of conceptual issues underlying privatisation. Readers have hopefully been able to get a more balanced view of the rationale of privatisation and of its relevance in the Indian context as a result of this exchange.

with More?
Samuel Paul THE state of Kerala attracted considerable international attention in the seventies with its success story in literacy and health care. The set of articles on Kerala's economic performance published in EPW (September 1-8 and 15) has provided an interesting sequel to this story, one that is bound to arouse the curiosity of all those interested in the state's progress. The analysis of economic performance and the attribution of the factors underlying the outcomes, is admittedly a daunting task. The authors of the recent EPW articles on Kerala therefore deserve to be commended for their contributions.