In Localizing Development, Mansuri and Rao survey theory and evidence for development strategies based on local community empowerment. This note extends their theoretical argument by focusing on local government as a vital source of new leadership. Local leaders who provide better public service...

A review of the history of the United States from its colonial origins shows how Americas successful development has always been guided by two basic principles: representative democracy, and a proper division of power between national and subnational governments. The United States of America was...