Small Town Governance: What are the governance challenges facing small cities?

CASI has launched the first systematic set of studies on the political economy of “small-scale urbanization” in India. A significant percentage of urban residents across the Global South live in small towns. In India, the percentage of citizens living in cities with populations less than 100,000 residents equals those living in million-plus cities. Indeed, 85% of India’s towns have less than 100,000 people. Yet little is known about the political economy of these urban local bodies. What governance challenges do small towns face? Why are small towns so unsuccessful in raising tax revenues? Why do they often fail to spend the funds provided to them by central and state governments? CASI is conducting the first ever large-scale surveys of small-town bureaucrats and politicians, as well as ordinary citizens. This research is supported by an India Research and Engagement Fund (IREF) grant awarded to CASI by Penn Global for 2022-2024. This project takes place in collaboration with the Directorate of Local Bodies in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Project findings will be disseminated to a group of scholars and policymakers at a major workshop hosted by CASI and UPIASI in New Delhi. The first paper from this project was published in the American Political Science Review, and is accessible here.