Cover; Half-title; Title page; Copyright information; Dedication; Contents; List of Figures; List of Tables; List of Abbreviations; Acknowledgments; 1 Public Goods Provision in China and India; The Empirical Puzzle; The Argument; Theories of Public Goods Provision; Regime Type; Other Explanations for Variations in Public Goods Provision; Contributions to the Literature; Plan of the Book; Part I Social Contracts; 2 Social Contracts, Institutional Design, and Public Goods Provision; Defining a Social Contract; Traditional Social Contract Theorists and Varieties of Social Contracts Social Contracts as an Informal InstitutionLegitimacy; Expectations; Impact of Social Contracts on Institutional Design and Public Goods Delivery; Autonomy; Capacity; Theory Testing and Case Selection; Cities; Urban Water Supply; Some Limitations; Conclusion; 3 The Chinese Social Contract; The Chinese Social Contract; Basis of Legitimacy; ''The mandate of heaven'' and the Chinese concept of performance; Urban bias; The ideological interregnum; Restoring the performance-based social contract; Popular Expectations; Impact of the Chinese Social Contract on Public Goods Provision ''Chinese-style'' AutonomyDecentralization and Empowering Local Governments; Financial Capacity of Local Governments; Conclusion; 4 The Indian Social Contract; The Indian Social Contract; Postindependence Origins; Basis of Legitimacy; Socialism; Democratic participation and populism; Rural bias; Popular Expectations; Impact of the Indian Social Contract on Public Goods Provision; Low Autonomy; Limited Capacity; Weak Local Governments; Conclusion; Part II Comparing Urban Water Management in China and India; 5 Comparing China's and India's Water Institutional Frameworks Institutional Framework of the Chinese Urban Water SectorAdministrative Structure; Water Policies and Legal Framework; Water allocation and abstraction; Water usage and sustainable development; Obligations of water suppliers; Water pricing policies; Financing; Private sector participation in China's urban water sector; Opening up policies; Regulatory policies; Property rights transfer policies; Institutional Framework of the Indian Urban Water Sector; Administrative Structure; Water Laws and Regulations; Financing; Private Sector Participation in India's Urban Water Sector; Conclusion 6 Quenching Thirst in China's First-Tier Cities: Shenzhen and BeijingShenzhen; Shenzhen's Water Problems; Impact of China's Social Contract on Urban Water Management in Shenzhen; Institutional autonomy and capacity; (a) Shenzhen's status as a special economic zone; (b) Autonomy in setting laws and regulations; (c) Creation of the Shenzhen Municipal Water Affairs Bureau; (d) Separation of government and enterprise; (e) Resource allocation; Impact of institutional autonomy and capacity on Shenzhen's urban water supply system; (a) Greater efficiency and better coordination

Provides the answer to the enduring puzzle why India lags behind China in offering public goods to its people