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Governance and basic social services: ensuring accountability in service delivery through deep democratic decentralization

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  • Santosh Mehrotra

    (The Asia Bureau, UNDP)

Abstract

Ensuring accountability of local functionaries for effective delivery of basic social services has been a perennial problem of development. Since the poor have limited prospects of 'exit', 'voice' alone works to ensure effectiveness of service delivery. Accountability of lower-level functionaries to superiors in a vertical line ministry is rarely effective. The paper spells out a model of deep democratic decentralization that has been demonstrated to work in a number of countries. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Santosh Mehrotra, 2006. "Governance and basic social services: ensuring accountability in service delivery through deep democratic decentralization," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(2), pages 263-283.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:18:y:2006:i:2:p:263-283
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.1219
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Benitez & Antonio Estache & Tina Søreide, 2012. "Infrastructure policy and governance failures," CMI Working Papers 5, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway.
    2. Davison Muchadenyika, 2017. "Civil society, social accountability and service delivery in Zimbabwe," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35, pages 178-195, October.
    3. Danielle Resnick, 2022. "Does Accountability Undermine Service Delivery? The Impact of Devolving Agriculture in Ghana," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(2), pages 1003-1029, April.
    4. Argentino Pessoa, 2008. "Public-private partnerships in developing countries: are infrastructures responding to the new ODA strategy?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(3), pages 311-325.
    5. Makokha, Racheal Omukhulu, 2017. "Does Decentralization Improve Provision of Health Services? Evidence from Kisumu and Makueni Counties in Kenya," Thesis Commons xef7a, Center for Open Science.
    6. Argentino Pessoa, 2008. "Educational Reform in Developing Countries: Private Involvement and Partnerships," FEP Working Papers 284, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.

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