What is decentralization, what is its underpinning rationale, and why might it matter for least-developed countries … decentralization into clear empirical conclusions; and (ii) to derive policy lessons relevant to least-developed countries. It first … reviews the different definitions of decentralization employed in the literature before proposing one best suited to countries …

I examine decentralization through the lens of the local dynamics it unleashed in the much-noted case of Bolivia and … the less-noted case of Bangladesh. I argue that the national effects of decentralization are largely the sum of its local …-level effects. Hence to understand decentralization we must first understand how local government works. This implies analysing not …

new indigenous political class. Decentralization was the trigger - not the cause - that made Bolivia's latent cleavage …

We explore the effects of decentralization on education and health in Ethiopia using an original database covering all … the 1970s-80s were followed by federalization, decentralization, rapid growth and dramatic improvements in human … development. Did decentralization contribute to these successes? We use time series and panel data analyses to show that …

policy dimensions. We examine detailed evidence from decentralization in Bolivia and Pakistan, and explain very different … society, over multiple periods. Politicians decentralize to solve a discrete, often short-term political problem. But … decentralization is neither short-term nor discrete, but rather a deep change in the structure of public finance and authority with …

Well-designed decentralization can deepen democracy and strengthen the state in five key ways. Decentralizing below the … of authority" critique is mistaken; decentralization transforms the state from a simpler, brittler command structure to …