Publication: The Political Economy of Decentralization Reforms : Implications for Aid Effectiveness
Date
2011-06-24
ISSN
Published
2011-06-24
Author(s)
Abstract
This volume presents a preliminary
framework designed to help international development
partners consider the relevance of political economy issues
for their programmatic support to decentralization and local
government reform. The intention is neither to advocate
decentralization in general or in any particular form, nor
to presume or privilege any particular decentralization
objective. Instead, the purpose is to document the potential
value of better understanding how (primarily national and
intergovernmental) political and institutional dynamics do
or could affect the scope for realizing decentralization
reforms aligned with commonly advocated service delivery,
governance, and poverty reduction goals. The underlying
premise is that systematic analysis of these issues can
productively complement the dominantly technical diagnostic
work typically carried out by development partners.
Specifically, development partners can benefit from better
understanding the practical significance of motives that
drive politicians and bureaucrats to support or oppose
reform at various stages of the decentralization process,
from making an initial reform decision to detailed design
and implementation. In addition, the framework addresses how
these incentives can weaken, strengthen, or shift in
response to changes in political and economic conditions
that arise after reform begins. A general approach to
conducting political economy of decentralization analysis is
outlined, recognizing the need to tailor such analysis to
the particular country context. This volume is based on
literature reviews and knowledge derived from selected
country experiences.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Eaton, Kent; Kaiser, Kai; Smoke, Paul J.. 2011. The Political Economy of
Decentralization Reforms : Implications for Aid Effectiveness. Directions in Development ; public sector governance. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2336 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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