Publication: Using Regional Institutions to Improve the Quality of Public Services
Loading...
Files in English
173 downloads
Published
2011
ISSN
Date
2012-06-26
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Rationalizes that governments subcontract the delivery of some public services to regional organizations to access higher quality (and possibly lower cost) services than could be produced domestically. If outsourcing is feasible in fragile states, bridging the gap between current poor quality public services and the type of services necessary to encourage development of a market economy is also possible within relevant development horizons. Eight examples of outsourcing from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Eastern Caribbean of government services are studied: central banking and regulation of the financial system (BCEAO, BEAC, and ECCB); justice provision (ECSC and OHADA), regulation of telecommunications (ECTEL and WATRA) and multi-country security arrangements (AU). The surge in contracting out since 1980 correlates to the increase in the number of independent states. It is easier to subcontract advisory aspects rather than executive aspects of services, but the costs of coordination and organization of service provision are high and have created a barrier to their development in some countries. Picking subcontractors with recognized prestige strengthens fledgling regional institutions.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Favaro, Edgardo M.. 2011. Using Regional Institutions to Improve the Quality of Public Services. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9249 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Small States, Smart Solutions : Improving Connectivity and Increasing the Effectiveness of Public Services(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008)The case studies focus on specific attempts made by a number of small states to overcome the handicaps of their size and isolation and take advantage of growing opportunities for integration with their neighbors and with the rest of the world. Two policy issues have been of prime importance in that effort: how to reduce the costs and increase the effectiveness of public goods and services, and how to improve, and reduce the costs of, connectivity with the rest of the world. This study takes a different tack. It focuses on two policy areas: (a) the use of outsourcing of government functions as a means of reducing the costs and improving the quality of some public goods and services; and (b) policies, institutions, and regulations designed to harness the power of information and telecommunications technology (ICT) to reduce the costs and improve the quality of connectivity with the rest of the world.Publication Republic of Congo : Enhancing Efficiency in Education and Health Public Spending for Improved Quality Service Delivery for All(Washington, DC, 2014-06)The development of a wealthier, literate, and healthy society is a fundamental goal of Congo's national development plan (NDP) 2012-16 and poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) 2012-16. Appropriate funding allocations and efficient use of funds in education and health are fundamental for the development of the sectors. This public expenditure review (PER) of the Congolese education and health sectors aims at providing inputs to improve efficiency and equity in spending in these sectors. It takes into account the following findings of the macro PER: (i) spending on the social sectors is still low although it has increased over time; (ii) the fiscal space generated by the increased oil revenues has largely boosted investment expenditure; and (iii) budget execution is low which contributes to lower the real level of public spending. The PER is divided in two main parts. Part I, constitutes an overview of the two sector reports. Thus, it presents a brief analysis of the context of the country, a summary of findings of the education and health PER, a discussion on cross-cutting themes on spending in the two sectors, and a summary of recommendations. Part II includes the education and health PER.Publication Improving Security in Violent Conflict Settings : Security and Justice Thematic Paper(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011)Acknowledges that security--both physical security and national security--needs to be addressed in contexts ranging from pre-conflict, conflict, to post-conflict, and in both national and local units. Solutions to stemming violence do not follow linear or sequential implementation. Capacity building requires security sector reform, peacebuilding, parliamentary oversight, civil society involvement, financial management, and transitional justice measures. The return of counterinsurgencies in rogue states or rebellions of secessionist movements has focused aid donors on the legitimacy of such groups. In countries like Colombia where disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programs were left incomplete, gang violence has escalated, and in countries like El Salvador violence has mutated across generations into transnational gangs. DDR, a popular set of activities to fund, has the potential to achieve security objectives and social welfare, but requires confidence in the government, community acceptance, a sufficiently strong economy, integration of ex-combatants into new armed forces or national service corps, and community involvement.Publication Service Delivery in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011)Finds fragile and conflict-affected (FCA) states experience poor delivery of basic services which include: (1) social services such as health, education, clean water, and sanitation; (2) social protection ranging from social safety nets to livelihood enhancing programs; and (3) security and justice. Using the framework from the 2004 WDR on Making Services Work for Poor People, which summarizes the accountability relationships between policy makers (and politicians), service providers, and citizens (especially the poor), and the framework proposed in the Concept Note for the 2011 WDR, the following conclusions are reached: the political and institutional context of each FCA state exerts particular influence on results; the contribution of the private sector, NGOs, religious organizations, and community groups plays a vital role; the danger of stresses from conflict situations can cause a breakdown of delivery of social services; and strong leadership on the national, local, and tribal levels is the best way to address and respond to people's needs.Publication Managing Public Finance and Procurement in Fragile and Conflicted Settings(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011)Discusses ways to enhance the incentives for elites to invest political capital in achieving (1) functional results through the formal public finance management (PFM) system; (2) the effectiveness of agencies responsible for services and regulating activities; and (3) better performance of civil service officials. Using the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Performance Measurement Framework, countries affected by conflict and fragility can be compared with non-fragile poor countries, and an international consensus among donors can be drawn on the immediate objectives of reform. Whole of government policy and financing relationships with fragile states lead to the goals of horizontal and vertical equity and distribution of wealth from natural and land assets to the poor. Resource sharing agreements can help build accountability, and local confidence while public procurement rules and processes can have far-reaching implications. Engaging leadership, coalition building, and change management can result in new institutions and ideas for institutional transformation.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Jobs and Transitions Out of Poverty : A Literature Review(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-10)This paper summarizes the existing literature on the links between labor and poverty reduction. The vast majority of studies find that more and better paid work is critical in lifting people out of poverty. Studies analyzing poverty dynamics and economic mobility find that improved returns to endowments, particularly the returns to human and physical capital, are critical for exiting poverty. Although non-labor incomes and demographic changes can help to lift the poor out of poverty, there is no substitute for providing an enabling environment that fosters better work and pay for the poor.Publication Disability Inclusion in Tanzania(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-03)This report presents the findings of a mixed methods assessment, drawing from stakeholder consultations and from nationally representative household surveys. It aims to provide a deeper contextual understanding of the barriers encountered by persons with disabilities in Tanzania. Persons with disabilities experience difficulties when accessing basic services such as healthcare, employment, education, transportation, and social welfare. It provides recommendations for promoting disability inclusion across sectors. The intended audience is a mix of policy makers, donors, and civil society. The assessment was commissioned by the World Bank (WB) in collaboration with the United Republic of Tanzania (URT), through the Prime Minister’s Office, Labour, Youth Employment and Persons with Disabilities (LYED) in Tanzania Mainland and the First Vice President’s Office in Zanzibar.Publication Cleaner Hearths, Better Homes : New Stoves for India and the Developing World(New Delhi: Oxford University Press and World Bank, 2012)For people in developed countries, burning fuel wood in an open hearth evokes nostalgia and romance. But in developing countries, the harsh reality is that several billion people, mainly women and children, face long hours collecting fuel wood, which is burned inefficiently in traditional biomass stoves. The smoke emitted into their homes exposes them to pollution levels 10-20 times higher than the maximum standards considered safe in developed countries. And the problem is not out of the ordinary. The majority of people in developing countries at present cannot afford the transition to modern fuels. Today, close to one half of the world's people still depend on biomass energy to meet their cooking and heating needs. This book should be of interest to policymakers and scientists across a broad spectrum of disciplines from health, environment, and economics to sociology, anthropology, and physics. Indeed, the hands of many specialists are required to ensure successful stove programs, which call for social marketing, stove engineering, development of standards, promotion of private and commercial enterprises, and appropriate subsidy schemes. That the book's authors represent diverse disciplines sociology, physics, and forest economics underscores the range of perspectives needed to tackle the issues involved in the commercial promotion of improved stoves. The impetus for writing this book started at the end of a World Bank project on the health implications of indoor air pollution, which coincided with the Government of India's (GoI) cancellation of its 20-year program on improved stoves. The government's decision came as no surprise, given the program's mixed results.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in China and Southeast Asia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-09)This chapter begins with a brief summary of economic growth and structural changes in the region since the 1950s and of agricultural and other economic policies as they affected agriculture before and after the various reforms, and in several cases fundamental regime changes, of the past half-century. It then summarizes new estimates of the nominal rate of assistance (NRA) and the relative rate of assistance (RRA) to farmers delivered by national farm and nonfarm policies over the past several decades (depending on data availability), and of those policies' impacts on consumer prices of farm products. Both farmer assistance and consumer taxation is negative in periods where there is an anti-agricultural, pro-urban consumer bias in a country's policy regime. The final sections summarize what the author have learned and draw out implications of the findings, including for poverty and inequality and for possible future directions of policies affecting agricultural incentives in this part of Asia.