Abstract
This chapter examines whether Indian society encourages or discourages open defecation and whether open defecation is a social norm or custom. This empirical analysis has been conducted on the basis of surveys conducted in four villages in Gujarat and West Bengal, the two states located in the western and eastern parts of the country. The Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) approach of the social network analysis method has been used to select sample households for the analysis. The analysis shows that the reference network of sample households has profound implications on access and attitude towards toilet use. Privacy and convenience are the main reasons for toilet construction. Personal normative beliefs about the use of toilets are higher in Gujarat than in West Bengal.
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De, I., Singh, S., Panda, S.S. (2021). Sanitation and Social Norms: A Study on Villages in Gujarat and West Bengal. In: Social Norms, Gender and Collective Behaviour. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6952-1_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6952-1_6
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