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1、CelebrationsasSocialInvestments:FestivalExpenditures,UnitPriceVariationandSocialStatusinRuralIndiaJournalofDevelopmentStudies,Vol.38,No.1,October2001,Pp:71-97VijayendraRaoDevelopmentResearchGroupTheWorldBank1818HStreet,NWWashington,DC20433Email:vrao@world
2、bank.orgNovember,2000IamindebtedtoA.C.KomalaandRamaRaneefortheirhelpwiththedatacollection,totheMellonandSchalckenbachFoundationsforfinancialsupport,toSitaReddyforinvaluablediscussions,andtoananonymousrefereeforparticularlyinsightfulsuggestions.IthankHarol
3、dAlderman,SabinaAlkire,FrancisBloch,AndrewFoster,KarlaHoff,MichaelWoolcock,andseminarparticipantsattheWorldBankforvaluablecomments,butIremainsolelyresponsibleforanyerrorsoromissions.TheviewsexpressedinthispaperdonotnecessarilyreflecttheopinionsoftheWorldB
4、ank,itsExecutiveDirectorsoritsmembercountries.CelebrationsasSocialInvestments:FestivalExpenditures,UnitPriceVariationandSocialStatusinRuralIndiaAbstractVijayendraRaoFestivalexpendituresamounttoover15%ofahousehold’sannualexpendituresinruralIndia.Yettheyhav
5、eneverbeenstudiedbyeconomists.Thispaperusesbothqualitativeandquantitativedatafromacase-studyofthreeSouthIndianvillagestoshowthatfestivalsareimportantpublicgoodsinthevillagebutneitherapureentertainmentmotive,noranaltruisticdesiretocontributetoapublicevents
6、eemtoexplaintheirsize.Householdswhospendmoneyonfestivals,everythingelseheldequal,are,however,abletogetgeneratetangiblerewards-lowerpricesonfood,highersocialstatusandmoreinvitationstomealsfromotherfamilies.Thisindicatesthatactiveparticipationinfestivalsgen
7、eratesprivateeconomicandsocialreturnswhichhelpsresolveapotentialfree-riderproblem.Theevidenceisconsistentwiththenotionthatfestivalsserveasmechanismsbywhichcommunitiescementbondsacrossfamiliesandthusbuildsocialcapital.1IntroductionIwillneverforgetthefirstt
8、imeIsawavillagefestival.InNovember,1992IhadspentaboutaweekinavillageinKarnatakaStateinSouthernIndiaconductingfieldwork.MyteamandIwereinterviewingfamilieswithsixorsevenadultsandchildrenwholivedinoneortworoommudhutswi