Resource information
This report evaluates the framework of
decentralization reforms instituted in decentralizing
countries. Decentralization is a multi-faceted process which
includes giving discretion to local governments and
establishing accountability mechanisms at three different
levels of governance: political, administrative and fiscal.
Therefore, the analysis of the decentralization reforms
should also be based on an inter-disciplinary approach. The
report applies this framework to ten countries and two
sectors and uses the case studies as the primary data
collection tool. These case studies provide detailed
contextual analysis of the political, administrative and
fiscal aspects of decentralization. The countries identified
for the case studies are Angola, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda,
Kerala/India, Philippines, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Rwanda and
Punjab/Pakistan. The sectors identified are health and
education. The review of these case studies suggests that
most of the local governments do not fare well on many
assessment criteria of well-designed decentralization. In
addition to the insubstantial discretion available to the
local governments, accountability mechanisms are also not
well developed.
