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Download fileThe politics of anti-poverty artefacts: lessons from the computerization of the food security system in Karnataka
conference contribution
posted on 2016-10-14, 14:50 authored by Silvia Masiero, Amit PrakashThe last few years have seen a rapid increase in the discussion of the role of new technologies in strengthening social safety nets. However, the hypothesis that technology design is intertwined with political agendas - aiming at instilling specific visions and policy objectives in anti-poverty programmes - has remained to a large extent unexplored, being either taken as implicit or neglected by technical discourse. In this paper, we look at computerization of a large food security programme - the Public Distribution System in Karnataka, India - to argue that technology, far from simply affecting the functioning of existing processes, can be built to advance specific political agendas, which carry clear stances on the ways in which social welfare targets are to be reached. However, recipients? perception of these programmes depends highly on how technology affects access to their entitlements, which need therefore to be set at the core of anti-poverty technology design. The case study is used to draw lessons for policy, specifically aimed at countries embarking into computerization of their social safety nets.
Funding
This research was funded by the Centre for IT and Public Policy (CITAPP) at the International Institute for Information Technology, Bangalore, and by the Bagri Fellowship awarded by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Asia Research Centre.
History
School
- Business and Economics
Department
- Business