01125pab a2200169 454500008004000000100002000040245006100060260000900121300001400130362001100144520066200155650003600817650003400853650001200887700002200899773003400921180718b2004   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aBardhan, Pranab  aPoverty alleviation efforts of panchayats in West Bengal  c2004  ap.965-74.  a28 Feb  aThis paper examines poverty alleviation efforts of West Bengal panchayats, comprising implementation of land reforms and pro-poor targeting of credit, agricultural minikits, employment programmes and fiscal grants. The sample includes 89 villages and covers four successive panchayat administrations. While average levels of poverty alleviation efforts were high, there were significant variations both across and within villages over time. Poverty alleviation efforts within villages improved when land was distributed more equally, the poor became more literate, there were fewer low caste households and local elections were more contested. - Reproduced.  aPanchayat - India - West Bengal  aPoverty - India - West Bengal  aPoverty  aMookherjee, Dilip  aEconomic and Political Weekly