Theories of Decentralization and Local Government brings fresh perspective to the debate and comparative analysis of vertical division of power; i.e. processes of decentralization and relations between central and local (self) governments. The multiple author book is not just one of many similar around the globe, as it encompasses contributions from many different academics from not only different countries, but also different continents and even more importantly, very different political traditions and cultures. This way, the book deepens and strengthens knowledge of the role of local governments in the contemporary world, and brings new value to discussions on the relationship between decentralization and development. Contributors include: Ahmed Mustafa Elhussein Mansour, Hong Pang, Abdulfattah Yaghi, Jose Neftali Recinos, Gariela Miranda-Recinos, Lee Payne, Heather Wyatt Nichol, Ed Gibson, James Newman, Kwame Asamoah, Minerva Cruz, and Alexandra Tsvetkova.

A Brookings Institution Press and Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation publication The trend toward greater decentralization of governance activities, now accepted as commonplace in the West, has become a worldwide movement. This international development—largely a product of globalization and democratization—is clearly one of the key factors reshaping economic, political, and social conditions throughout the world. Rather than the top-down, centralized decisionmaking that characterized communist economies and Third World dictatorships in the twentieth century, today's world demands flexibility, adaptability, and the autonomy to bring those qualities to bear. In this thought-provoking book, the first in a new series on Innovations in Governance, experts in government and public management trace the evolution and performance of decentralization concepts, from the transfer of authority within government to the sharing of power, authority, and responsibilities among broader governance institutions. This movement is not limited to national government—it also affects subnational governments, NGOs, private corporations, and even civil associations. The contributors assess the emerging concepts of decentralization (e.g., devolution, empowerment, capacity building, and democratic governance). They detail the factors driving the movement, including political changes such as the fall of the Iron Curtain and the ascendance of democracy; economic factors such as globalization and outsourcing; and technological advances (e.g. increased information technology and electronic commerce). Their analysis covers many different contexts and regions. For example, William Ascher of Claremont McKenna College chronicles how decentralization concepts are playing out in natural resources policy, while Kadmeil Wekwete (United Nations) outlines the specific challenges to decentralizing governance in sub-Saharan Africa. In each case, contributors explore the objectives of a decentralizing strategy as well as the benefits and difficulties that will likely result.

Dissatisfied with centralized approaches to delivering local public services, a large number of countries are decentralizing responsibility for these services to lower-level, locally elected governments. The results have been mixed. The paper provides a framework for evaluating the benefits and costs, in terms of service delivery, of different approaches to decentralization, based on relationships of accountability between different actors in the delivery chain. Moving from a model of central provision to that of decentralization to local governments introduces a new relationship of accountability-between national and local policymakers-while altering existing relationships, such as that between citizens and elected politicians. Only by examining how these relationships change can we understand why decentralization can, and sometimes cannot, lead to better service delivery. In particular, the various instruments of decentralization-fiscal, administrative, regulatory, market, and financial-can affect the incentives facing service providers, even though they relate only to local policymakers. Likewise, and perhaps more significantly, the incentives facing local and national politicians can have a profound effect on the provision of local services. Finally, the process of implementing decentralization can be as important as the design of the system in influencing service delivery outcomes.

'Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World' constitutes a global reference on decentralization by presenting the contemporary situation of local governments in all regions of the world. The report analyzes local authorities in each continent under three main themes: the evolution of territorial structures; responsibilities and power, management and finances; and local democracy. An additional chapter is dedicated to the governance of large metropolises, where rapid growth presents major challenges, in particular in the fast-developing countries of the South. This report also offers a comparative overview of the different realities concerning the state of decentralization, and how the basic indispensable mechansims for local democracy do, or do not exist in come countries. Relationships between the state and local authorities are evolving toward innovative forms of cooperation. In this context, the role of local authorities in the development of global policies is increasingly recognized. The first Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD) Report is one of the main products of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The GOLD Report is the first of what will be a triennial publication. UCLG represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. Headquartered in Barcelona, the organization's stated mission is: To be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community.

Asian countries have introduced major reforms and new institutional mechanisms in recent years to promote the engagement of elected local governments, civil society, and the private sector. This book examines emerging issues in democratic local governance and factors that influenced the impetus for and the substance of reforms. It asks the following questions: - What have been the challenges in designing and implementing decentralization policies and programs? - What are the constraints on strengthening citizen participation? - Can reforms promote gender and rights perspectives in local governance? - What is the role of local government in service delivery and access? - How effective are the mechanisms for accountability and transparency in local governance? - What are the driving forces influencing democratic local governance reform? The book addresses these questions as it discusses studies from theoretical and comparative perspectives on specific issues as well as myriad cases across Asia, often dealing with country-specific reforms.

In practice, most education systems have both centralized and decentralized elements. Planners involved in a decentralizing reform must identify which components of the system are more appropriately managed at the central level and which at the local level. This book is intended to inform education policymakers, planners, and practitioners about international experience in the legal aspects of decentralizing basic education. It also provides a basic understanding of how laws and regulations can be used for education reform. For purposes of the discussion, decentralization is used to describe efforts to transfer decision making power in basic education from the administrative center of a country to authorities closer to users. The term is also used in a more technical sense to describe one of the many forms this type of reform can take, and in this sense it is contrasted with deconcentration and devolution as educational reforms. The first section examines the general legal aspects of decentralization, and the second looks more closely at decentralization laws and regulations. The third section is, in effect, a checklist of items that should be included in decentralization laws, and the fourth section provides a road map to help the planner prepare and implement the laws required for reform. Although an effort has been made to keep the discussion general enough for use in many countries, the analysis is based on the legal systems of the Western world or those that they inspired. (Contains 35 references.) (SLD)

This global encyclopedic work serves as a comprehensive collection of global scholarship regarding the vast fields of public administration, public policy, governance, and management. Written and edited by leading international scholars and practitioners, this exhaustive resource covers all areas of the above fields and their numerous subfields of study. In keeping with the multidisciplinary spirit of these fields and subfields, the entries make use of various theoretical, empirical, analytical, practical, and methodological bases of knowledge. Expanded and updated, the second edition includes over a thousand of new entries representing the most current research in public administration, public policy, governance, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and management covering such important sub-areas as: 1. organization theory, behavior, change and development; 2. administrative theory and practice; 3. Bureaucracy; 4. public budgeting and financial management; 5. public economy and public management 6. public personnel administration and labor-management relations; 7. crisis and emergency management; 8. institutional theory and public administration; 9. law and regulations; 10. ethics and accountability; 11. public governance and private governance; 12. Nonprofit management and nongovernmental organizations; 13. Social, health, and environmental policy areas; 14. pandemic and crisis management; 15. administrative and governance reforms; 16. comparative public administration and governance; 17. globalization and international issues; 18. performance management; 19. geographical areas of the world with country-focused entries like Japan, China, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, North America; and 20. a lot more. Relevant to professionals, experts, scholars, general readers, researchers, policy makers and manger, and students worldwide, this work will serve as the most viable global reference source for those looking for an introduction and advance knowledge to the field.

This book examines the impacts of fiscal decentralization reforms on the efficiency of local governments in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. By offering a comparative perspective and by applying econometric methods and regression models, it analyses various reform trajectories and their effects on individual CEE countries. Furthermore, the book discusses input and output indicators for evaluating the efficiency of municipalities. Readers will learn about the common features of these countries, the impact of path dependence, and future prospects for decentralization reforms. In closing, the book discusses modern management and administration methods, opportunities for cooperation between municipalities, co-creative service delivery, and other measures that could improve the efficiency of public service provision.

During the past two decades, a silent revolution in public sector governance has swept across the globe aiming to move decisionmaking for local public services closer to the people. The countries embracing and adapting to this silent revolution have had diverse motives and followed even more diverse approaches. Shah and Thompson attempt to present a stylized view of the motivations and approaches used to strengthen local governance.The quest for the right balance - that is, appropriate division of powers among different levels of government - is not always the primary reason for decentralizing. There is evidence that the decentralization decision may have more to do with short-term political considerations than the long-run benefits of decentralization. To take stock of progress worldwide, the authors take a comparative look at developments in political, fiscal, and administrative decentralization for a selected group of countries. Most of the decentralization literature deals with normative issues regarding the assignment of responsibilities among different levels of government and the design of fiscal transfers. The process of decentralization has not received the attention it deserves as the best laid plans can fail due to implementation difficulties. The authors revisit major controversies regarding preferred approaches to obtaining a successful outcome. Key approaches examined are big push versus small steps, bottom up versus top down, and uniform versus asymmetric decentralization.Finally, the authors evaluate Indonesia's 1999 quot;big bangquot; decentralization program. The program should be commended for its achievements over a short period of time. However, incentives are lacking for local governments to be accountable and responsive to their residents.This paper - a product of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Division, World Bank Institute - is part of a larger effort in the institute to disseminate ideas in strengthening responsive, responsible, and accountable public governance.