Does Citizenship Abate Class? Evidence and Reflections from Bangalore, India

38 Pages Posted: 30 Nov 2016

See all articles by Ebony Bertorelli

Ebony Bertorelli

Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

Patrick Heller

Brown University - Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs

Siddharth Swaminathan

Azim Premji University

Ashutosh Varshney

Brown University - Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs

Date Written: November 23, 2016

Abstract

Drawing on data from a large household survey in Bangalore, this paper explores the quality of urban citizenship. Addressing theories that have tied the depth of democracy to the quality and effectiveness of citizenship, we develop an index of citizenship that includes various measures and then explore the extent to which citizenship determines the quality of services and infrastructure that households enjoy. Our findings show that citizenship and access to services in Bangalore are highly differentiated, that much of what drives these differences has to do with class, but we also find clear evidence that the urban poor are somewhat better in terms of the services they receive that they would be without citizenship. Citizenship, in other words, abates the effects of class.

Keywords: Bangalore, urban citizenship, citizenship, infrastructure, India

Suggested Citation

Bertorelli, Ebony and Heller, Patrick and Swaminathan, Siddharth and Varshney, Ashutosh, Does Citizenship Abate Class? Evidence and Reflections from Bangalore, India (November 23, 2016). Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Research Paper No. 2016-36, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2876620 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2876620

Ebony Bertorelli

Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

4th Floor, UNI Building, Thimmaiah Road
Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore - 560052
India

Patrick Heller

Brown University - Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs ( email )

111 Thayer Street
Box 1970
Providence, RI 02912-1970
United States

Siddharth Swaminathan

Azim Premji University ( email )

Electronic City
Hosur Road (Beside NICE Road)
Bangalore, 560100
India

Ashutosh Varshney (Contact Author)

Brown University - Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs ( email )

111 Thayer Street
Box 1970
Providence, RI 02912-1970
United States

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