Social Fragmentation and Public Goods Provision: Polarization and Patronage in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India

Theoretical works have highlighted the negative relationship between social fragmentation and the provision of public goods. Results from empirical research seem less certain. This paper explores a possibility often neglected by the literature: the presence of ethnic patronage in public goods access. Our results suggest that where there are effects of fragmentation, they are mainly positive. On the other hand, polarization has no effect, which contradicts the underlying assumption of the literature according to which social fragmentation induces antagonism that, in turn, impedes the production of public goods. Last, we explore whether belonging to the dominant caste in the village affects the probability of household access to public goods. The results from this analysis provide some support to the patronage hypothesis.