Despite quite low income and productivity growth since 1970, Kerala s citizens enjoy a life expectancy on a par with Hungary and literacy rates comparable with those in Norway. Almost all villagers now have access to a school and a modern health clinic within a radius of 2.5 kilometers. Newspapers and telecommunication facilities are also available in the great majority of villages. These successes are the result of a strong political commitment to mass education and health care dating back to the 19th Century. Important support has come from social policies that have achieved relatively equitable land distribution, an efficient food distribution system, and a breakdown of the restrictive caste system.
Social investment appears to be paying off.
Kerala s annual growth rate in per capita income was almost twice that of India between 1987 and 1992.