Maharashtra's Social Sectors: Growth Without Human Development

The paper examines the trends in social sector attainment at the stale and regional levels in Maharashtra over the period 1960 to 1995 It evaluates the relative importance of historical processes, social infrastructure development and trends in government expenditure on social sector attainments. Persistence of high regional and inter-personal inequalities in income and asset distribution in the state lias meant that income growth has not translated into better human development outcomes. Social infrastructure continues to be biased in favor of higher level facilities in urban areas. Cross-section and time series analysis indicates the high importance of government expenditure as compared to per capita income in explaining education and health outcomes. The deceleration in social sector expenditure incurred by the government since the mid-1980s implies that the state may continue to experience growth without human development. JEL Classification: IO, II, 1