Using rural household survey data from West Bengal, we find that voters respond positively to excludable government welfare benefits but not to local public good programs, while reporting having benefited from both. Consistent with these voting patterns, shocks to electoral competition induced...

When government officials are involved in land transactions the scope for arbitrary decision making and corruption is large, and the land issue can turn into a political football among rival political parties

When government officials are involved in land transactions the scope for arbitrary decision making and corruption is large, and the land issue can turn into a political football among rival political parties.