Thirsty Cities

Selina Ho is Assistant Professor of International Affairs at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. She researches and teaches Chinese politics and foreign policy, and the international relations of Asia. She has published peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and opinion pieces on China's relations with its neighbors in South, Southeast, and Central Asia, focusing on the politics of water and infrastructure development. Selina completed her Ph.D. at The Johns Hopkins University, The Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS), where she also received a Masters in International Public Policy (Honors). She has been appointed a Global Futures Council Fellow (Regional Governance) with the World Economic Forum.

• 1. Public goods provision in China and India; Part I. Social Contracts: 2. Social contracts, institutional design, and public goods provision; 3. The Chinese social contract; 4. The Indian social contract; Part II. Comparing Urban Water Management in China and India: 5. Comparing China's and India's water institutional frameworks; 6. Quenching thirst in China's first-tier cities: Shenzhen and Beijing; 7. Water constraints in India's megacities: New Delhi and Hyderabad; 8. Conclusion: types of social contracts and can social contracts change?

'An excellent study on the differential performances of China and India in distributing public goods provisions. With the aid of case studies of water supply in four Chinese and Indian cities, Selina Ho captures an enduring puzzle as to why India lags behind China in offering collective goods to its population, despite its democratic credentials. A must read for all interested in development as well as all politicians and bureaucrats in India!' T. V. Paul, James McGill Professor of International Relations, McGill University, Canada