Public expenditure on human development: An empirical study of Karnataka state

Human development is the most strategic and crucial determinant of growth. In this regard the purpose of development is to improve human lives by not only enhancing income but also by expanding the range of things that a person can do. A link between growth and human development has to be created consciously through deliberate public expenditure such as public spending in social sector and fiscal policy to re-distribute income and assets. The recent empirical studies on public expenditure on education and health suggest that real per capita expenditure for education and health have been increasing in the developing countries, on an average, but declining in transition economies. The slow growth in expenditure on human development relative to GSDP is closely related to the fiscal deterioration in the state in particular because of rise in debt services and pension revision.