Rethinking Decentralization in Developing Countries

Abstract

No AccessStand Alone Books1 Feb 2013Rethinking Decentralization in Developing CountriesAuthors/Editors: Jennie Litvack, Junaid Ahmad, Richard BirdJennie Litvack, Junaid Ahmad, Richard Birdhttps://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-4350-5SectionsAboutPDF (0.2 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:This paper draws on the growing experience with decentralization in developing countries, to explore how a wide range of variables can affect decentralization efforts, and, how policies, and incentives can be designed to improve outcomes. The paper highlights the fact that decentralization is neither good, nor bad for efficiency, equity, or macroeconomic stability; but rather that its effects depend on institution-specific design. It discusses the building blocks of fiscal federalism (expenditure and revenue assignment, intergovernmental transfers, and sub-national borrowing), to then discuss the means through which decentralization policy, and institutions interact. These are the regulatory framework for sub-national borrowing, information systems and competitive governments, asymmetrical decentralization, and policy synchronization. The paper ' s starting point is the traditional fiscal federalism approach, though the primary measures for local/central accountability, assumed in most decentralization discussions, may not hold, or are different in many developing countries. The paper suggests the need for stronger focus on institutions, enhancing accountability, governance, and capacity in the context of designing decentralization policies. FiguresreferencesRecommendeddetailsCited byA functional approach to decentralization in the electricity sector: learning from community choice aggregation in CaliforniaJournal of Environmental Planning and Management, Vol.66, No.67 February 2022Tying decentralization and income redistribution to fight corruption: Empirical evidence from developed and developing countriesFrontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Vol.816 January 2023Facing or retreating? Evaluating the impact of fiscal pressure and the selection preference of tax efforts among Chinese local governmentFrontiers in Environmental Science, Vol.1012 January 2023Green Federalism: Principles and Practice in Mature Federations and the European Union22 February 2023The legacy of the reformasi: the role of local government spending on industrial development in a decentralized IndonesiaJournal of Economic Structures, Vol.11, No.119 March 2022Sesgo político en la distribución de recursos durante la pandemia en Chile: evidencia para un país centralizadoPapel Político, Vol.2719 August 2022The selective centralization in decentralization: China's environmental vertical management reform with a case study in Hebei provinceInternational Journal of Water Resources Development, Vol.38, No.428 April 2021Integrating Devolution with Centralization: A Comparison of Poverty Alleviation Programs in India, Mexico, and ChinaJournal of Chinese Political Science, Vol.27, No.26 September 2021Efficiency of Inter-Budgetary Regulation of Heavily Subsidized Budgets at the Subnational LevelFinance: Theory and Practice, Vol.26, No.229 April 2022The Incoherence of Institutional Reform: Decentralization as a Structural Solution to Immediate Political NeedsStudies in Comparative International Development, Vol.57, No.19 November 2021Decentralization Reforms in Developing Countries Designed to Champion the Interests of Central Politicians and not Grassroots DevelopmentJournal of Developing Societies, Vol.38, No.119 December 2021Factors of Budget Delay: Local Government Capacity, Bargaining and Political Interaction in IndonesiaBulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Vol.58, No.114 April 2022Gender Budgeting, as Fiscal Innovation in India19 July 2022Rescaling social care services: The case of district municipalities in IstanbulInternational Social Work, Vol.65, No.15 March 2020Decentralization Can Improve Equity, but Can It Be Sustained?Health Systems & Reform, Vol.8, No.16 June 2022Fiscal Decentralization and Social Service Delivery: An Empirical Analysis of BalochistanSustainable Business and Society in Emerging Economies, Vol.3, No.431 December 2021Does decentralization of health systems translate into decentralization of authority? A decision space analysis of Ugandan healthcare facilitiesHealth Policy and Planning, Vol.36, No.924 June 2021Centralisation in one step. Centralisation and decentralisation in Hungary from a public services perspectivePolitics in Central Europe, Vol.17, No.s122 October 2021How do ethnic groups compete for a new province in a decentralised Indonesia?Asian Journal of Political Science, Vol.29, No.329 October 2021The role of policy analysis and its impact on decision-making in local governments: the case of the Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentInternational Review of Public Administration, Vol.26, No.312 October 2021How does asymmetric decentralization affect local fiscal pe