To achieve higher growth and reduce poverty and inequality, Mexico needs to improve public service delivery. Mexico is a middle-income country with continuing high levels of poverty (46.2 percent of the population). To improve public sector service delivery, Mexico needs to ensure sufficient...

"The availability and quality of basic public services are important determinants of urban quality of life. In many cities, rapid population growth and fiscal constraints are limiting the extent to which urban governments can keep up with increasing demand for these services. It therefore...

"Local government size varies dramatically around the world. In Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, and the United Kingdom, municipalities average more than 125,000 people. Those in many European countries have less than 10,000 people. Countries often consider consolidation of local governments as a means to...

"Dissatisfied with centralized approaches to delivering local public services, a large number of countries are decentralizing responsibility for these services to lower-level, locally elected governments. The results have been mixed. The paper provides a framework for evaluating the benefits and...