6 CHAPTER 1


and coalition politics. Second, the study examines policy reform at both the national and the state level, based on interviews with representatives of interest groups and key informants. Thirty-six interviews were conducted for the study of fertilizer supply, and 75 for the study on electricity sup- ply. Third, rather than concentrate on the “first-best” option of increasing the prices paid by farmers for fertilizer and electricity, the study evaluates the political feasibility of a range of alternative and complementary policy options to meet equity, efficiency, and sustainability goals, including options that are considered “second-best” from the perspective of neoclassical eco- nomics. Fourth, it discusses a range of political strategies for overcoming resistance to reforms. Fifth, it examines the role that research-based knowl- edge can play in promoting policy reform. Using this approach, the study identifies factors that have received limited attention in the literature so far, most notably (1) the fundamental disagree- ments of different stakeholders regarding basic facts, causal mechanisms, and appropriate reform options; (2) the role of different political paradigms in the political debate; (3) the resulting obstacles to the formation of pro- reform coalitions across policy fields; (4) the role of bureaucratic politics in fertilizer-supply policy; and (5) the dynamics of state-level party politics in setting policies governing electricity supply to agriculture. The monograph is organized as follows: Chapter 2 reviews the relevant lit- erature. Chapter 3 presents the conceptual framework and the methodology. Chapters 4–7 deal with fertilizer policy: Chapter 4 gives an overview; Chapter 5 describes the evolution of fertilizer policy in India and the reform initiatives that have been undertaken; Chapter 6 analyzes the actors and their politi- cal strategies and discourses; and Chapter 7 examines policy implications. Chapters 8–11 deal with electricity supply to agriculture: Chapter 8 provides background information on the electricity supply to agriculture in Andhra Pradesh and Punjab in the Indian context; Chapter 9 describes the evolution and the reform initiatives of the two states’ policies governing electricity sup- ply to agriculture; Chapter 10 analyzes the actors in this policy field and exam- ines their political strategies and discourses; and Chapter 11 reviews policy implications. Chapter 12 compares fertilizer and electricity policy. Chapter 13 discusses a range of political strategies that could be applied to promote the reform of both fertilizer and electricity policy, and Chapter 14 presents conclusions.


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