Download or read book Democratic Local Governance in Bolivia written by Harry W. Blair and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Decentralization and Popular Democracy written by Jean-Paul Faguet and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2012-06-04 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faguet identifies the factors that determine the outcomes of national decentralization on the local level

Download or read book Decentralization and Local Governance in Developing Countries written by Pranab K. Bardhan and published by MIT Press (MA). This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives on the current trend in the developing world of devolving political and economic power to local governments.

Download or read book DAC Guidelines and Reference Series Accountability and Democratic Governance Orientations and Principles for Development written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2014-09-15 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is growing recognition of the need for new approaches to the ways in which donors support accountability, but no broad agreement on what changed practice looks like. This publication aims to provide more clarity on the emerging practice.

Download or read book Deepening Local Democracy in Latin America written by Benjamin Goldfrank and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2015-09-10 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The resurgence of the Left in Latin America over the past decade has been so notable that it has been called “the Pink Tide.” In recent years, regimes with leftist leaders have risen to power in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Venezuela. What does this trend portend for the deepening of democracy in the region? Benjamin Goldfrank has been studying the development of participatory democracy in Latin America for many years, and this book represents the culmination of his empirical investigations in Brazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In order to understand why participatory democracy has succeeded better in some countries than in others, he examines the efforts in urban areas that have been undertaken in the cities of Porto Alegre, Montevideo, and Caracas. His findings suggest that success is related, most crucially, to how nationally centralized political authority is and how strongly institutionalized the opposition parties are in the local arenas.

Download or read book Waiting for Democracy written by Jesse Craig Ribot and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: References pp. 115-132.

Download or read book Radical Democracy in the Andes written by Donna Lee Van Cott and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a decade in local office, are indigenous peoples' governments in the Andes fulfilling their promise to provide a more participatory, accountable, and deliberative form of democracy? Using current debates in democratic theory as a framework, Donna Lee Van Cott examines 10 examples of institutional innovation by indigenous-party-controlled municipalities in Bolivia and Ecuador. In contrast to studies emphasizing the role of individuals and civil society, the findings underscore the contributions of leadership and political parties to promoting participation and deliberation -- even at the local level. Democratic quality is more likely to improve where local actors initiate and design institutions. Van Cott concludes that indigenous parties' innovations have improved democratic quality in some respects, but that authoritarian tendencies endemic to Andean cultures and political organizations have limited their positive impact.

Download or read book Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World written by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2008-11-04 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World' constitutes a global reference on decentralization by presenting the contemporary situation of local governments in all regions of the world. The report analyzes local authorities in each continent under three main themes: the evolution of territorial structures; responsibilities and power, management and finances; and local democracy. An additional chapter is dedicated to the governance of large metropolises, where rapid growth presents major challenges, in particular in the fast-developing countries of the South. This report also offers a comparative overview of the different realities concerning the state of decentralization, and how the basic indispensable mechansims for local democracy do, or do not exist in come countries. Relationships between the state and local authorities are evolving toward innovative forms of cooperation. In this context, the role of local authorities in the development of global policies is increasingly recognized. The first Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD) Report is one of the main products of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The GOLD Report is the first of what will be a triennial publication. UCLG represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. Headquartered in Barcelona, the organization's stated mission is: To be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community.

Download or read book Does Decentralization Increase Spending on Public Infrastructure written by Antonio Estache and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: May 1995 Decentralization tends to increase both total and subnational spending on public infrastructure. Why this is so is not clear -- possibly because subnational governments' choices in terms of quality and quantity of infrastructure differ from central governments' choices. It is commonly argued that when the benefits of an infrastructure service are mostly local and there is little scope for economies of scale -- as in urban transit, road maintenance, water supply, and solid waste management -- decentralization is the most effective way to deliver service. Those services have been decentralized in many countries, and many others are rapidly decentralizing. The central government is still responsible for many other infrastructure services, such as power and telecommunications, but this too is changing as the responsibility is increasingly transferred to subnational governments. Recent technological innovations reduce the need for services to be provided by monopolistic utilities. Power generation and distribution can now be handled competitively by decentralized units, and parts of some local telephone monopolies will increasingly meet competition from wireless telephones and rival wireline systems. How has increased decentralization affected spending levels on infrastructure? The outcome reflects the net outcome of opposing effects. Spending increases if the subnational government makes infrastructure a higher priority than the federal government did, if they are less effective at delivering services, or if they give up the benefits of economies of scale to get more autonomy. Spending decreases if they assign infrastructure a lower priority, or if most projects are more cost-effective. In their analysis, Estache and Sinha focus on spending levels and ignore the reasons these levels change, so no conclusions can be made about whether decentralization makes spending more or less efficient. Among the conclusions they offer: * Decentralization tends to increase both total and subnational spending on infrastructure -- possibly because the preferences of subnational governments in terms of quality and quantity of infrastructure are different from the central government's preferences. * The conventional wisdom is true: For decentralization, policymakers everywhere must guarantee a balance between revenue and spending assignment. A good way to offset the impact of decentralization on spending levels is to increase the imbalance between revenue and spending assignments. * Be careful about applying lessons learned in industrial countries to decentralization in developing countries. What happens in industrial countries may help assess the decentralization's impact on total spending in developing countries, because the elasticity of per capita infrastructure spending is roughly similar in both countries (about 0.3 in developing countries and about 0.2 in industrial countries). But that is not a good indicator for subnational spending, for which the elasticity is greater than 1 in developing countries (between 1.1 and 1.3, depending on how decentralization is measured) and less than 1 in industrial countries (between 0.7 and 0.9). This paper -- a product of the Office of the Vice President, Development Economics -- is a background paper for World Development Report 1994 on infrastructure.

Download or read book Democratic Local Governance written by G. Shabbir Cheema and published by UN. This book was released on 2013 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Asian countries have introduced major reforms and new institutional mechanisms in recent years to promote the engagement of elected local governments, civil society, and the private sector. This book examines emerging issues in democratic local governance and factors that influenced the impetus for and the substance of reforms. It asks the following questions: - What have been the challenges in designing and implementing decentralization policies and programs? - What are the constraints on strengthening citizen participation? - Can reforms promote gender and rights perspectives in local governance? - What is the role of local government in service delivery and access? - How effective are the mechanisms for accountability and transparency in local governance? - What are the driving forces influencing democratic local governance reform? The book addresses these questions as it discusses studies from theoretical and comparative perspectives on specific issues as well as myriad cases across Asia, often dealing with country-specific reforms.

Download or read book Leadership and Innovation in Subnational Government written by Tim Campbell and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication examines the various innovative projects on-going in Latin America, where fledging and developing local government policies are being introduced for reforming and improving services for the local communities whom they serve. The emergence of decentralised democracies in this region of the world offers may new challenges, that are dependent on building communities open to enterprise and innovation. Among such innovations are popular participation, service delivery, privatization and personnel management. Case studies of such developments are documented in this publication. For outside agencies and countries providing donor finance to this region, a greater awareness is required of the local policies that are being implemented. The World Bank recommends a process of participation in public choice, and a fostering of greater co-operation at a local level.

Download or read book Decentralization written by Andrew N. Parker and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1995 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: June 1995 Although decentralization initiatives have a long history, much more needs to be understood about various components of decentralization before sound advice can be given to policymakers. Special strategies are needed to address the widespread incidence of rural poverty in developing countries, but initiatives aimed at improving the rural standard of living have not consistently reduced poverty. Parker examines the rationale for a specific rural focus in poverty reduction programs and reviews recent attempts to encourage rural development. He discusses the role decentralization could play in rural development programs and analyzes recent efforts to implement decentralized rural development programs. Parker concludes that although decentralization initiatives have a long history, much more needs to be understood about various components of decentralization before sound advice can be given to policymakers. He suggests a conceptual model--based on a soufflé theory of decentralization--that incorporates the essential elements of political, fiscal, and institutional decentralization as they relate to rural development outcomes. Like a soufflé that requires just the right combination of milk, eggs, and heat to rise, a successful program of decentralization must include just the right combination of political, fiscal, and institutional elements to improve rural development outcomes. This paper--a product of the Sector Policy and Water Resources Division, Agriculture and Natural Resources Department--is part of a larger effort in the department to develop a new strategy for rural development. The study was partly funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Decentralization, Fiscal Systems, and Rural Development (RPO 679-68).

Download or read book The Political Economy of Democratic Decentralization written by James Manor and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly all countries worldwide are now experimenting with decentralization. Their motivation are diverse. Many countries are decentralizing because they believe this can help stimulate economic growth or reduce rural poverty, goals central government interventions have failed to achieve. Some countries see it as a way to strengthen civil society and deepen democracy. Some perceive it as a way to off-load expensive responsibilities onto lower level governments. Thus, decentralization is seen as a solution to many different kinds of problems. This report examines the origins and implications decentralization from a political economy perspective, with a focus on its promise and limitations. It explores why countries have often chosen not to decentralize, even when evidence suggests that doing so would be in the interests of the government. It seeks to explain why since the early 1980s many countries have undertaken some form of decentralization. This report also evaluates the evidence to understand where decentralization has considerable promise and where it does not. It identifies conditions needed for decentralization to succeed. It identifies the ways in which decentralization can promote rural development. And it names the goals which decentralization will probably not help achieve.

Download or read book Democratic Local Governance in Honduras written by Hal Lippman and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America written by Jorge I. Domínguez and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2013-07-31 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After more than a century of assorted dictatorships and innumerable fiscal crises, the majority of Latin America's states are governed today by constitutional democratic regimes. Some analysts and scholars argue that Latin America weathered the 2008 fiscal crisis much better than the United States. How did this happen? Jorge I. Domínguez and Michael Shifter asked area specialists to examine the electoral and governance factors that shed light on this transformation and the region's prospects. They gather their findings in the fourth edition of Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America. This new edition is completely updated. Part I is thematic, covering issues of media, constitutionalism, the commodities boom, and fiscal management vis-à-vis governance. Part II focuses on eight important countries in the region—Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. Already widely used in courses, Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America will continue to interest students of Latin American politics, democratization studies, and comparative politics as well as policymakers.

Download or read book NGOs Political Protest and Civil Society written by Carew Boulding and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have an important effect on political participation in the developing world. Contrary to popular belief, they promote moderate political participation through formal mechanisms such as voting only in democracies where institutions are working well. This is a radical departure from the bulk of the literature on civil society that sees NGOs and other associations as playing a role in strengthening democracy wherever they operate. Instead, Carew Boulding shows that where democratic institutions are weak, NGOs encourage much more contentious political participation, including demonstrations, riots, and protests. Except in extreme cases of poorly functioning democratic institutions, however, the political protest that results from NGO activity is not generally anti-system or incompatible with democracy - again, as long as democracy is functioning above a minimal level.

Download or read book Human Development Report 1993 written by United Nations Development Programme and published by Human Development Report. This book was released on 1993 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its headline-making debut, the Human Development Report has become an essential resource for development specialists, economists, and political scientists around the world. While previous Human Development Reports focused on investment in people, the 1993 Report not only updates the findings of the earlier volumes, but shifts the focus towards the "other" side of human development--mobilizing and utilizing human potential. The Report surveys the instruments for enhancing and encouraging participatory patterns of development, including privatization and participatory market structures, vertical and horizontal decentralization of government functions, devolution of government powers, enterprise decentralization, involvement of NGOs and other grass-roots organizations, and empowerment of people. It probes the vital connections between employment and development, and offers a global framework for employment that takes into account the growing pressure for international migration. In addition, it examines links between human development and international markets for ucts, capital, and labor, and presents updated human development indicators for more than 160 countries.