Download or read book Decentralisation and Reform in Latin America written by Giorgio Brosio and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ÔThis volume provides a splendid and wide-ranging collection of studies analyzing the political-economy of decentralization in Latin-America. ItÕs a fascinating story with numerous and profound insights into how fiscal decentralization actually works in the context of a variety of fiscal institutions and in a setting with a high degree of inequality in the distribution of income and territorial disparities.Õ Ð Wallace E. Oates, University of Maryland, US ÔThe volume on Decentralization and Reform in Latin America is an important addition to the growing literature on decentralization. Some of the issues in the implementation and effectiveness of decentralization are similar all over the world, but there are issues of particular salience to Latin America, a region where decentralization reforms have come sometimes in the wake of major political reforms. This volume pays special attention to the complexity of issues (both relating to equity and efficiency) arising in the context of vertical fiscal imbalance and inter-governmental transfers, in the delivery of social services or investment spending, in the sharing of rent from natural resources among social and regional groups and in macro-fiscal stabilization. I expect the volume to receive widespread attention.Õ Ð Pranab Bhardan, University of California, Berkeley, US ÔWhen it comes to fiscal decentralization in developing countries, Latin America has long led the way. In the two decades prior to the mid-1990s, some countries in the region extensively decentralized expenditures, especially social expenditures, and to a much lesser extent revenues to subnational governments. Some excesses and distortions resulted from these initial efforts and over the next decade major attempts were made to offset such problems, primarily by changing fiscal rules and transfer systems. The recent boom in natural resource revenues has again exacerbated pressure on the intergovernmental fiscal system in many countries, leading to further attempts to adjust the flow of finance between governments in order to maintain macroeconomic balance while achieving both more effective service delivery and greater social cohesion. This book, which provides both description and analysis of the rich Latin American experience, should be required reading not only for all those interested in the region but for scholars and policy-makers anywhere who are concerned with the complex and many-faceted issues associated with decentralization.Õ Ð Richard M. Bird, University of Toronto, Canada ÔGiorgio Brosio and Juan Pablo JimŽnez have made a remarkable job in preparing the best comprehensive treatment of comparative decentralization experiences in Latin America. The volume reviews all aspects of the decentralization process: its constitutional roots and its contribution to social cohesion; the provision of social services and infrastructure; taxation, sharing in natural resource revenues and the design of the intergovernmental transfers; and its macro-financial implications and associated fiscal rules. It will be essential reading for analysts of fiscal and local government issues in the region and a very useful tool for Latin Americanists in general.Õ Ð JosŽ Antonio Ocampo, Professor, Columbia University. Former Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and Finance Minister of Colombia Decentralisation and Reform in Latin America analyses the process of intergovernmental reform in Latin America in the last two decades and presents a number of emerging issues. These include the impacts of decentralization and the response of countries in the region to challenge such as social cohesion, interregional and interpersonal disparities, the assignment of social and infrastructure expenditure, macrofinancial shocks, fiscal rules and the sharing of natural resources revenue. The main aim of the book is to assess the effective working of decentralized arrangements and institutions, with a view of suggesting corrections and reforms where the system is not working according to expectations. Policymakers, researchers and academics with an interest in subjects related to public policy, fiscal rules, intergovernmental relations, governance and decentralization will find this book invaluable.

Download or read book Decentralized Development in Latin America written by Paul Lindert and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-03-02 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much of the scholarly and professional literature on development focuses either on the ‘macro’ level of national policies and politics or on the ‘micro’ level of devel- ment projects and household or community socio-economic dynamics. By contrast, this collection pitches itself at the ‘meso’ level with a comparative exploration of the ways in which local institutions – municipalities, local governments, city authorities, civil society networks and others – have demanded, and taken on, a greater role in planning and managing development in the Latin American region. The book’s rich empirical studies reveal that local institutions have engaged upwards, with central authorities, to shape their policy and resource environments and in turn, been pressured from ‘below’ by local actors contesting the ways in which the structures and processes of local governance are framed. The examples covered in this volume range from global cities, such as Mexico and Santiago, to remote rural areas of the Bolivian and Brazilian Amazon. As a result the book provides a deep understanding of the diversity and complexity of local governance and local development in Latin America, while avoiding the stereotyped claims about the impact of globalisation or the potential benefits of decentralisation, as frequently stated in less empirically grounded analysis.

Download or read book Beyond the Center written by Shahid Javed Burki and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation This report examines the impact of decentralization and its effect on the efficiency of public services, on equity, and on macroeconomic stability.

Download or read book Decentralization and Democracy in Latin America written by Alfred P. Montero and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Spanish invaded the Inca empire in 1532, the cult of the ancestors was an essential feature of pre-Columbian religion throughout the Andes. The dead influenced politics, protected the living, symbolized the past, and legitimized claims over the land their descendants occupied, while the living honored the presence of the dead in numerous aspects of daily life. A central purpose of the Spanish missionary endeavor was to suppress the Andean cult of the ancestors and force the indigenous people to adopt their Catholic, legal, and cultural views concerning death. In her book, Gabriela Ramos reveals the extent to which Christianizing death was essential for the conversion of the indigenous population to Catholicism. Ramos argues that understanding the relation between death and conversion in the Andes involves not only considering the obvious attempts to destroy the cult of the dead, but also investigating a range of policies and strategies whose application demanded continuous negotiation between Spaniards and Andeans. Drawing from historical, archaeological, and anthropological research and a wealth of original archival materials, especially the last wills and testaments of indigenous Andeans, Ramos looks at the Christianization of death as it affected the lives of inhabitants of two principal cities of the Peruvian viceroyalty: Lima, the new capital founded on the Pacific coast by the Spanish, and Cuzco, the old capital of the Incas in the Andean highlands. Her study of the wills in particular demonstrates the strategies that Andeans devised to submit to Spanish law and Christian doctrine, preserve bonds of kinship, and cement their place in colonial society. "Rapid and widespread death decimated the descendants of the Inca Empire, but the mere number of the dead does not tell the story. Rather, Ramos brilliantly demonstrates that, beginning with the execution of Atahualpa, death and the dead were one of the great colonial sites of ongoing contestation about both the here and now and the hereafter. In an exquisitely researched study, Ramos traces the shift from pre-Columbian to colonial Andean funerary rituals and the differing ways that they became the center of how 'Andeans and Europeans communicated and exchanged their visions of power and the sacred, ' in a true dance of death." --Thomas B. F. Cummins, Harvard University "Death and Conversion in the Andes is a highly innovative study that looks at the conquest period in a new light. By analyzing how the conception of death and death rituals changed during the early colonial period, Gabriela Ramos is able to gain many new insights into how the conquest modified indigenous beliefs. For those interested in ethnohistory and the effects of colonialism in Spanish America, this is a must read." --Erick D. Langer, Georgetown University

Download or read book Decentralization in Asia and Latin America written by Paul J. Smoke and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2006-11-28 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public sector decentralization has emerged prominently in many Asian and Latin American countries as a strategy to promote development and political reform. Results in both cases have been mixed. Despite broad similarities in intent and outcome, contextual differences between the regions have led to striking differences in the way decentralization has been structured and implemented. This volume takes an atypically historical and interdisciplinary perspective on decentralization, highlighting how fiscal and political forces together have been shaping its evolution in the two regions.

Download or read book Decentralization and Subnational Politics in Latin America written by Tulia G. Falleti and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-12 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it always true that decentralization reforms put more power in the hands of governors and mayors? In post-developmental Latin America, the surprising answer to this question is no. In fact, a variety of outcomes are possible, depending largely on who initiates the reforms, how they are initiated, and in what order they are introduced. Tulia G. Falleti draws on extensive fieldwork, in-depth interviews, archival records, and quantitative data to explain the trajectories of decentralization processes and their markedly different outcomes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. In her analysis, she develops a sequential theory and method that are successful in explaining this counterintuitive result. Her research contributes to the literature on path dependence and institutional evolution and will be of interest to scholars of decentralization, federalism, subnational politics, intergovernmental relations, and Latin American politics.

Download or read book The Quiet Revolution written by Tim Campbell and published by University of Pittsburgh Pre. This book was released on 2003-04-20 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As if by unseen signal toward the end of the 1980s, many Latin American governments suddenly transferred money and decision-making power to local municipalities. At the same time, national authorities allowed local governments to choose their leaders in free and open elections. The resulting revolution has been profound in its reach and stunning in the silent shift of power from central to local authorities.The Quiet Revolution traces the growth and effects of decentralization and democratization in Latin America throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Based on first-hand accounts from mayors, local officials, and neighborhood leaders, Tim Campbell focuses on those cities and towns that made the most of their new intergovernmental arrangements. He further argues that the reforms, which are vital to long-term sustainable growth in the region, are in danger of being smothered by current policy responses from national and international institutions. Campbell's research, conducted over a ten-year span, counters conventional wisdom about the role of development banks in the process of state reform and offers timely insights into similar events taking place in other parts of the world.

Download or read book Decentralization and Subnational Politics in Latin America written by Tulia G. Falleti and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-12 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it always true that decentralization reforms put more power in the hands of governors and mayors? In postdevelopmental Latin America, the surprising answer to this question is no. In fact, a variety of outcomes are possible, depending largely on who initiates the reforms, how they are initiated, and in what order they are introduced. Tulia G. Falleti draws on extensive fieldwork, in-depth interviews, archival records, and quantitative data to explain the trajectories of decentralization processes and their markedly different outcomes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. In her analysis, she develops a sequential theory and method that are successful in explaining this counterintuitive result. Her research contributes to the literature on path dependence and institutional evolution and will be of interest to scholars of decentralization, federalism, subnational politics, intergovernmental relations, and Latin American politics.

Download or read book Audacious Reforms written by Merilee S. Grindle and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This book was released on 2000-09-20 with total page 1156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Audacious Reforms examines the creation of new political institutions in three Latin American countries: direct elections for governors and mayors in Venezuela, radical municipalization in Bolivia, and direct election of the mayor of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Diverging from the usual incremental processes of political change, these cases marked a significant departure from traditional centralized governments. Such "audacious reforms," explains Merilee S. Grindle, reinvent the ways in which public problems are manifested and resolved, the ways in which political actors calculate the costs and benefits of their activities, and the ways in which social groups relate to the political process. Grindle considers three central questions: Why would rational politicians choose to give up power? What accounts for the selection of some institutions rather than others? And how does the introduction of new institutions alter the nature of political actions? The case studies of Venezuela, Bolivia, and Argentina demonstrate that institutional invention must be understood from theoretical perspectives that stretch beyond immediate concerns about electoral gains and political support building. Broader theoretical perspectives on the definition of nation and state, the nature of political contests, the legitimacy of political systems, and the role of elites all must be considered. While past conflicts are not erased by reforms, in the new order there is often greater potential for more responsible, accountable, and democratic government.

Download or read book Decentralization in Latin America written by George E. Peterson and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Bank Discussion Paper No. 359. Oil and energy markets have experienced dramatic changes over the past two decades--steep price increases in the 1970s and 1980s followed by a decrease in 1986 and large declines in demand in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. But despite considerable uncertainty about future developments in the world oil market, this paper finds that demand is set to rise in all main regions, particularly in developing countries, led by increasing incomes, population, industrialization, investment, and trade. This study examines the growth in demand for eight major oil products for 37 developing countries over the 1971-93 period, analyzing the relationships and changes over time for income, population, and demand for energy and oil products for each country. It also examines some of the important phenomena that affect oil demand and calculates income and price elasticities for each product in all countries.

Download or read book Innovations and Risk Taking written by Tim Campbell and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation World Bank Discussion Paper No. 357.Decentralization and democratization in the Latin America and the Caribbean region have produced a wave of innovations on the local government level--upgrading professional staffs, raising taxes and user fees, delivering better services, and mobilizing participation in public choice-making. This paper documents five cases of best practices at the local level, focusing on innovations in Mendoza, Argentina; Curitiba, Brazil; Cali, Colombia; Manizales, Colombia; and Tijuana, Mexico. A the central message of the paper is that by supporting creation and adoption of best practice, donors can enjoy a cost-effective impact in achieving the next stages of reform in the region, but that work must be done at the local level.

Download or read book Development Centre Seminars Democracy Decentralisation and Deficits in Latin America written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 1998-03-09 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the impact of political decentralisation in Latin America? This book considers the problems raised by political decentralisation in the region and identifies the challenges ahead. Political decentralisation tends to devolve a certain amount ...

Download or read book Decentralizing Development written by Alan Angell and published by Queen Elizabeth House Developm. This book was released on 2001 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Decentralization has become a fashionable policy prescription among reformers in Latin America. But how does it work in practice? Are the claims that it promotes efficiency, participation, and fiscal responsibility justified? Does the process improve the delivery of social services at thelocal level and encourage the participation of local communities? What conditions allow a positive response to the challenges of decentralization?This book seeks to explore these questions by examining the experience of seven medium sized provincial towns in Colombia and Chile. The overall national context is analyzed and the differences between the two countries emphasized. Colombia embarked on a process of radical decentralization, largelybecause of perceived failures of the state at the central level, while in Chile the process of change was much more cautious, since a relatively efficient central state wished to maintain tight control over reform. The effect on the development and politics of the seven cities is also described, andthe reasons for the very different outcomes assessed. Particular attention is paid to the role of the mayor and the ability to construct a local coalition for reform. Three thematic chapters further explore the impact of decentralization on the local economy and the role of the private sector infostering development; the way in which educational reform has been advanced by local authority and community involvement; and the manner in which the new institutional structures affect the development of policies for local poverty alleviation.The authors draw on extensive fieldwork involving numerous interviews with actors at all levels and from all sectors. The result is a unique test, at the local level in Latin America, of the outcome of reforms to the institutional structure of government.

Download or read book Negotiating Universalism in India and Latin America written by Andres Mejia-Acosta and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how vertical inter-governmental political and fiscal bargains and horizontal variation in political, social and economic conditions across regions contribute to or undermine the provision of inclusive and sustainable social policies at the subnational level in Latin America and India. The question of how to advance universal social rights while reducing territorial inequalities has been a central dilemma for Latin America and India. After several decades of ambitious decentralization reforms in both regions, the balance between local accountability versus centralized planning remains a theoretical and empirical problem in need of systematic exploration. The chapters in this volume incorporate both federal and decentralized unitary states, pointing to common political tensions across unitary and federal settings despite the typically greater institutionalization of regional autonomy in federal countries. The contributors examine the territorial dimension of universalism and explore, in greater and empirical detail, the causal links between fiscal transfers, social policies and outcomes, and highlight the political dynamics that shape fiscal decentralization reforms and the welfare state. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Regional & Federal Studies.

Download or read book Improving Access and Quality of Public Services in Latin America written by Guillermo Perry and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-12-13 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents insights from several countries in Latin America and beyond on how to organize critical sectors, such as education, roads and water, to improve quality, access and affordability. The innovative, multi-disciplinary studies in this volume discuss the outcomes of decentralization, school autonomy, participatory budgeting at the local level and other accountability mechanisms. Rich quantitative analyses are complemented and enhanced by insights from interviews and quotes from those on the front lines: politicians, bureaucrats and service providers; as well as a variety of case-studies focusing on wider political economy questions, on the intricacies of political competition and governance reform, and on public spending efficiency in countries as varied as Colombia, Peru, Chile and Uruguay. As the authors demonstrate, Latin America has much to share with the rest of the world in terms of governance and public service delivery experiments and learnings.

Download or read book Barrio Democracy in Latin America written by Eduardo Canel and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The transition to democracy underway in Latin America since the 1980s has recently witnessed a resurgence of interest in experimenting with new forms of local governance emphasizing more participation by ordinary citizens. The hope is both to foster the spread of democracy and to improve equity in the distribution of resources. While participatory budgeting has been a favorite topic of many scholars studying this new phenomenon, there are many other types of ongoing experiments. In Barrio Democracy in Latin America, Eduardo Canel focuses our attention on the innovative participatory programs launched by the leftist government in Montevideo, Uruguay, in the early 1990s. Based on his extensive ethnographic fieldwork, Canel examines how local activists in three low-income neighborhoods in that city dealt with the opportunities and challenges of implementing democratic practices and building better relationships with sympathetic city officials.

Download or read book Is Decentralization Good For Development written by Jean-Paul Faguet and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2015-08-13 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is decentralisation good for development? This book offers insights and lessons that help us understand when the answer is 'Yes', and when it is No'. It shows us how decentralisation can be designed to drive development forward, and focuses attention on how institutional incentives can be created for governments to improve public sector performance and strengthen economies in ways that enhance citizen well-being. It also draws attention to the political motives behind decentralisation reforms and how these shape the institutions that result. This book brings together academics working at the frontier of research on decentralization with policymakers who have implemented reform at the highest levels of government and international organizations. Its purpose is to marry policymakers' detailed knowledge and insights about real reform processes with academics' conceptual clarity and analytical rigor. This synthesis naturally shifts the analysis towards deeper questions of decentralization, stability, and the strength of the state. These are explored in Part 1, with deep studies of the effects of reform on state capacity, political and fiscal stability, and democratic inclusiveness in Bolivia, Pakistan, India, and Latin America more broadly. These complex questions - crucially important to policymakers but difficult to address with statistics - yield before a multipronged attack of quantitative and qualitative evidence combined with deep practitioner insight. How should reformers design decentralisation? Part 2 examines these issues with evidence from four decades of reform in developing and developed countries. What happens after reform is implemented? Decentralization and local service provision turns to decentralization's effects on health and education services, anti-poverty programs with original evidence from 12 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.