Summary and Conclusions and Significance of Study

Abstract

Patnaik explains how to bring about institutional change in the rural context by reducing power inequities and identifying the right kind of institutional champion. The basic conclusion on the convening process is that it results in reduction of intra-community power asymmetries irrespective of the kind of government intervention. Social power asymmetry is the most crucial base to be addressed followed by economic, political and other asymmetries. With over two decades of experience as a policy maker, the author underlines the importance of the study to public policy, design and implementation. Significantly, the work expands and extends the literature on institutional change, hitherto embedded in commercial space, to the social arena. It also enriches collective action literature by bringing power and power asymmetry into discussion and debate.