Analytical framing for this research was provided by manor 1999. 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. The concept of decentralization as a developmental strategy has sparked off a renewed interest in institutions of governance in diverse economic and political environments. Decentralization of governance and development pranab bardhan a ll around the world in matters of governance, decentralization is the rage. 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. James manor, the political economy of democratic decentralization 1999. Cabell, february 2, 1816, in appleby and ball 1999, p. Does decentralization increase government responsiveness. Good summaries of this research can be found in rondinelli, cheema, and nellis 1983, manor 1999, treisman 2007, and faguet. 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. The political economy of democratic decentralization. Significant powers and responsibilities for local service delivery should be devolved. Political or democratic decentralization occurs when powers and resources are transferred to authorities representative of and downwardly accountable to local populations manor 1999. And a world bank 1995 case study of colombia shows that satisfaction with government and local services improved notably after decentralization.
For example, decentralization is often associated with democratic reform and the strengthening of civil society diamond 1999. Many countries are decentralizing because they believe this can help stimulate economic growth or reduce rural poverty, goals central government. 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. Any particular form of decentralization can occur in isolation or in combination with another. At least three types of decentralization can be identified. Publication date 1999 topics decentralization in government, economic development, democratization publisher washington, dc. 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. 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. Pranab bardhan, decentralization of governance and development, 16 j. Few studies have analyzed two or three types of decentralization at the same time e. 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. 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. At the macrolevel of analysis, should be noted that decentralization has both a state and a process dimension. We follow faguet and sanchez 2008 and manor 1999 in defining decentralization as the devolution by central i.
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. Indonesia, morocco, pakistan, thailand and tunisia. Part i defines terms, to show that the word decentralization can mean many different things. This official power transfer can take two main forms. 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. Decentralization and governance initiative for policy. Thecontradictionsof ugandasdecentralizationprogram paulfrancisandrobertjames universityofeastanglia,norwich,uk.
Since then, further reforms have been announced in countries as diverse as bolivia, cambodia, ethiopia, france. 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. Democratic decentralization independent evaluation group. But long before and since, most countries have experienced some form of decentralization. The political economy of democratic decentralization english. This study considers three types of decentralization. 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. The undp role in decentralization and local governance ix decentralization process.
Manor 1999 finds evidence that decentralization enhanced the responsiveness of government in the philippines, india and co. Since the 1980s, decentralization reforms have been adopted in many countries manor, 1999, with significant impact on health system governance. Penfoldbecerra 1999, but even these studies do not analyze the interactions among the different policies and the consequences of their timing and evolution. Chapter 1 situating contested notions of decentralized. Nearly all countries worldwide are now experimenting with decentralization. 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. Does decentralization increase government responsiveness to. Decentralisation is usually referred to as the transfer of powers from central government to lower levels in a politicaladministrative and territorial hierarchy crook and manor 1998, agrawal and ribot 1999. Each of these can occur in the political economy of democratic decentralization. Local actors, powers and accountability in african.
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. Decentralizations effects on education, health and. By now it is safe to say that experiments with, and enthusiasm for, decentralization are essentially ubiquitous acrossthe globe. In terms of democratic reform, decentralization advocates assume that bringing the state closer to people allows more public participation in decisionmaking and ensures.
Decentralization and governance initiative for policy dialogue. Through greater participation, democratic decentralization is believed to help internalize social, economic, devel. Democratic decentralization aims to increase public participation in local decisionmaking. An introduction to decentralization failure request pdf. These forms of decentralization can take place simultaneouslyquite often this is the case. 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. It then examines problems which can prevent decentralization from working well. Some focus on its political and economic advantages. Promoting good local governance through social funds and. Decentralization is a complex phenomenon involving many geographic entities, societal actors and social sectors. Sall 1998, manor 1999 and smoke 2001 are slightly more positive, but with caveats about the strength of evidence in decentralizations favor. Democratic decentralization james manor the world bank washington, d. For democratic decentralization to work well, elected bodies at lower levels must have.
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. Pacheco and kaimowitz 1998, for example, argue that the lack of municipal action in the forestry sector for nine bolivian municipalities stemmed from limited. 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. 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. Definitions and descriptions of decentralization used in the papers include.
Studies assessing the general effects of decentralization have generated contradictory evidence. The conference was hosted by the government and parliament of armenia. 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. The political economy of democratic decentralization by manor, james. Even apart from the widely debated issues of subsidiarity and devolution in the european union and states rights in. Balancingruralpovertyreductionand citizenparticipation. 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. When is fiscal decentralization good for governance. The vast literature on the concept of decentralization offers normative definitions of the term adams, 2002. Christine kearney december 30,1999 decentralization.
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. With the german government having evaluated its own decentralization projects in countries. Democratic decentralization in africa and asia manor. 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. Decentralization may result from political pressures exerted by subnational politicians. Numeorus approaches to decentralization efforts could be confined to three basic forms. Decentralization of health and education in developing. The political economy of democratic decentralization english abstract. Democratic decentralization aims to increase public participation in local decision making. Even apart from the widely debated issues of subsidiarity and devolution in the european union and states rights in the united states, decentraliza. In sherwood 1969s terms, decentralisation as opposed to devolution involve the creation of units of governance under the direct control of central authority.