Sall 1998, manor 1999 and smoke 2001 are slightly more positive, but with caveats about the strength of evidence in decentralizations favor. Decentralization of governance and development pranab bardhan a ll around the world in matters of governance, decentralization is the rage. An introduction to decentralization failure request pdf. With the german government having evaluated its own decentralization projects in countries. Pacheco and kaimowitz 1998, for example, argue that the lack of municipal action in the forestry sector for nine bolivian municipalities stemmed from limited. Democratic decentralization james manor the world bank washington, d. Numeorus approaches to decentralization efforts could be confined to three basic forms. Even apart from the widely debated issues of subsidiarity and devolution in the european union and states rights in. Decisions to decentralize are not made because their usefulness has been proven by facts but because it helps politicians cope with a loss of confidence in the centralized state. Democratic decentralization in africa and asia manor. Does decentralization increase government responsiveness to. It then examines problems which can prevent decentralization from working well. Balancingruralpovertyreductionand citizenparticipation.
In sherwood 1969s terms, decentralisation as opposed to devolution involve the creation of units of governance under the direct control of central authority. When is fiscal decentralization good for governance. The political economy of democratic decentralization english abstract. Decentralization is a complex phenomenon involving many geographic entities, societal actors and social sectors. Local actors, powers and accountability in african. The political economy of democratic decentralization english. Definitions and descriptions of decentralization used in the papers include. Decentralization may result from political pressures exerted by subnational politicians. The undp role in decentralization and local governance ix decentralization process. Since then, new or deepening reforms have been announced in nations as diverse as bolivia, cambodia, egypt, ethiopia, france, indonesia, japan, mexico, south korea, turkey, and many others. Studies assessing the general effects of decentralization have generated contradictory evidence. Treisman 2007 and tanzi 2002 assert that decentralization increases opportunities for corruption, while shah 2003 and manor 1999 worry that it can be counterproductive if sub. While decentralization covers a broad range of concepts and each type has different characteristics, policy implications, and conditions for success, a basic conception common to most definitions is that decentralization is a transfer of some form of authority from the center to the local level. Few studies have analyzed two or three types of decentralization at the same time e.
Ribot, 2002a, most decentralization theorists and policy makers evoke developmentalist arguments contending that the increased efficiency, equity and inclusion that should arise from decentralization result in better and more sustainable management smoke, 2000. Any particular form of decentralization can occur in isolation or in combination with another. In terms of democratic reform, decentralization advocates assume that bringing the state closer to people allows more public participation in decisionmaking and ensures. Decentralization of schools is a complex process that can result in major changes in the way school systems go about making policy, generating revenues, spending funds, training teachers, designing curricula, and managing local schools. Indonesia, morocco, pakistan, thailand and tunisia. The undp role in decentralization and local governance vi foreword undp and the german federal ministry for economic cooperation and development bmz collaborated on a critical assessment of undp support to decentralization and local governance. Democratic decentralization aims to increase public participation in local decision making. Treisman 2007 and tanzi 2002 assert that decentralization increases opportunities for corruption, while shah 2003 and manor 1999 worry that it can be counterproductive if sub national. The concept of decentralization as a developmental strategy has sparked off a renewed interest in institutions of governance in diverse economic and political environments. Promoting good local governance through social funds and. Thecontradictionsof ugandasdecentralizationprogram paulfrancisandrobertjames universityofeastanglia,norwich,uk. The political economy of democratic decentralization. Decentralization or decentralisation see spelling differences is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group concepts of decentralization have been applied to group dynamics and management science in private. Decentralizations effects on education, health and.
It helps enormously if a country attempting it has had a sustained experience of democracy, but that is not true in most of africa and asia. Democratic decentralization aims to increase public participation in local decisionmaking. Each of these can occur in the political economy of democratic decentralization. Many countries are decentralizing because they believe this can help stimulate economic growth or reduce rural poverty, goals central government.
Christine kearney december 30, 1999 decentralization index1 this index measures decentralization the assignment of fiscal, political, and administrative responsibilities to lower levels of government2 for 49 countries at fiveyear intervals from 1960 to 1995. This official power transfer can take two main forms. The political economy of democratic decentralization by manor, james. Decentralization might be a voluntary choice of politiciansit can increase political stability and economic growth in a way that compensates politicians for any loss of power they may experience in the short run see also manor, 1999. Devolution, or democratic decentralization, occurs when resources, power, and often tasks are shifted to lowerlevel authorities who are somewhat independent of higher authorities, and who are at least somewhat democratic manor 1999. For example, some critics, pointing out that moving from region to region tends to be costly, argue that citizens are unlikely to sort themselves geographically by tax and spending preference manor 1999. These forms of decentralization can take place simultaneouslyquite often this is the case. Since then, further reforms have been announced in countries as diverse as bolivia, cambodia, ethiopia, france. Decentralization is complex and encompasses a wide range of elements parker 1995 but evidence from many countries suggests three important conditions are necessary if decentralization is to lead to improved governance manor 1999. The vast literature on the concept of decentralization offers normative definitions of the term adams, 2002.
Decentralization of health and education in developing. But long before and since, most countries have experienced some form of decentralization. Political or democratic decentralization occurs when powers and resources are transferred to authorities representative of and downwardly accountable to local populations manor 1999. Since the 1980s, decentralization reforms have been adopted in many countries manor, 1999, with significant impact on health system governance. Through greater participation, democratic decentralization is believed to help internalize social, economic, devel.
A decade ago, estimates of the number of decentralization experiments ranged from 80 percent of the worlds countries to effectively all of them manor 1999. Decentralization is not a new concept considering that in the late 1990s approximately 80% of the worlds countries were experimenting with one form or another of decentralization manor, 1999. Even apart from the widely debated issues of subsidiarity and devolution in the european union and states rights in the united states, decentraliza. The conference was hosted by the government and parliament of armenia. Does decentralization increase government responsiveness. At least three types of decentralization can be identified. The evaluation schedule extended from late september 1999 to late january 2000 and included field visits to five countries guatemala, mali, the philippines, thailand and uganda that. For example, decentralization is often associated with democratic reform and the strengthening of civil society diamond 1999.
As explained by manor 1999, politicians see decentralization as a way to reconnect their regimes to social groups from which they have become increasingly divorced. Decentralization and governance initiative for policy. By now it is safe to say that experiments with, and enthusiasm for, decentralization are essentially ubiquitous acrossthe globe. James manor, the political economy of democratic decentralization 1999. We follow faguet and sanchez 2008 and manor 1999 in defining decentralization as the devolution by central i. Manor notes that the evidence, though extensive, is still incomplete, but ends his study with the opinion that while decentralization is no panacea, it has many virtues and is worth pursuing. This study considers three types of decentralization. Nearly all countries worldwide are now experimenting with decentralization. Democratic decentralization independent evaluation group. For democratic decentralization to work well, elected bodies at lower levels must have. Part i defines terms, to show that the word decentralization can mean many different things. Pranab bardhan, decentralization of governance and development, 16 j. And a world bank 1995 case study of colombia shows that satisfaction with government and local services improved notably after decentralization.
Significant powers and responsibilities for local service delivery should be devolved. Publication date 1999 topics decentralization in government, economic development, democratization publisher washington, dc. Christine kearney december 30,1999 decentralization. Analytical framing for this research was provided by manor 1999. Faguet, 2004 for example, finds that decentralization is associated with greater government responsiveness in bolivia, and faguet and sanchez 2008 find the same for colombia. At the macrolevel of analysis, should be noted that decentralization has both a state and a process dimension. Decentralization or decentralisation see spelling differences is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Manor 1999 finds evidence that decentralization enhanced the responsiveness of government in the philippines, india and co.
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