Decentralization and the Provision of Public Services : Framework and Implementation

Kim, Aehyung

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: COORDINATION PROBLEMS;    CORRUPTION;    DECENTRALIZATION;    EFFICIENCY GAINS;    GOVERNMENT REFORM;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4503
RP-ID  :  WPS4503

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper discusses decentralization(administrative, fiscal and political) of government inpublic service provision.It aims to facilitateunderstanding among practitioners, policy makers, andscholars about what decentralization entails in practicecompared to theory.A review of the empirical literatureand experience of decentralization is presented. The paperhighlights issues that policy makers in developing andtransitional countries should be aware of when reforminggovernment, considering their unique political and economicenvironment. The author argues that decentralizationproduces efficiency gains stemming from inter-jurisdictionalcompetition, enhanced checks and balances over thegovernment through voting at the subnational level, andinformational advantages due to proximity to citizens.Bycontrast, arguments against decentralization include therisk of an increased level of corruption, coordinationproblems stemming from multiple layers of government, lowcapacity of subnational government, and unproductiveinter-jurisdictional competition. Decentralization itselfdoes not render increased government effectiveness in publicservice provision.Instead, the effectiveness of governmentlargely depends on the quality of human capital and institutions.