Renjith P. s. Madras School of Economics   ICSSR Fellow, Madras School of Economics Gandhi Mandapam Road Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600 025 India   renjith@mse.ac.in   www.mse.ac.in           JEL Areas: H7 : State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations: General H6 : National Budget, Deficit, and Debt: General