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Rethinking Decentralization: Assessing Challenges to a Popular Public Sector Reform

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  • Jose A. Puppim De Oliveira
  • Yijia Jing
  • Paul Collins
  • Paul Smoke

Abstract

Decentralization is among the most globally ubiquitous public sector reforms. In the past few decades, many countries have taken formal steps to empower local governments, typically with a mix of stated developmental and governance goals. Although decentralization receives much attention, our systematic practical knowledge about it remains limited, and it is fair to say that it often does not meet expectations. Even supporters have begun to express frustration, and references to stalled decentralization or even recentralization have emerged in both policy debates and in practice. This paper briefly recaps what decentralization was expected to achieve, broadly summarizes what we know about performance, and highlights factors that support and impede reform. It also discusses weaknesses and challenges in how decentralization has been conceived, analyzed, designed, and implemented. The core argument is that this type of reform is more diverse and complex than has conventionally been acknowledged and that more careful analysis and strategic action tailored to a specific country are needed to help to realize more effective and sustainable decentralization. The paper closes with thoughts about future directions for how we conceptualize and pragmatically approach this diverse and consequential reform. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Jose A. Puppim De Oliveira & Yijia Jing & Paul Collins & Paul Smoke, 2015. "Rethinking Decentralization: Assessing Challenges to a Popular Public Sector Reform," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(2), pages 97-112, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:padxxx:v:35:y:2015:i:2:p:97-112
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    Cited by:

    1. Anam, Choirul & Plaček, Michal & Valentinov, Vladislav & Del Campo, Cristina, 2023. "Village funds and poverty reduction in Indonesia: new policy insight," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 1, pages 1-1.
    2. Tristan Canare & Jamil Paolo Francisco & Rose Ann Camille Caliso, 2020. "Decentralization and Income Inequality in a Panel and Cross‐Section of Countries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 543-579, May.
    3. Antonio Nicolás Bojanic, 2020. "The empirical evidence on the determinants of fiscal decentralization," Revista Finanzas y Politica Economica, Universidad Católica de Colombia, vol. 12(1), pages 271-302, June.
    4. George Atisa & Aziza Zemrani & Mathew Weiss, 2021. "Decentralized governments: local empowerment and sustainable development challenges in Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 3349-3367, March.
    5. Silvia Fresneda & Nuria Reguera & Fernando Casas, 2021. "De-agentification Process in Spanish Regional Governments," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 236(1), pages 39-64, March.
    6. Бухарский В. В. & Лавров А. М., 2021. "Межбюджетные Отношения И Государственное Управление: Возможности И Ограничения Децентрализации," Вопросы государственного и муниципального управления // Public administration issues, НИУ ВШЭ, issue 2, pages 126-153.
    7. Aijaz Ali & Farhad Analoui, 2023. "Decentralisation by military regimes and challenges to citizen participation: an empirical reflection from Pakistan," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    8. Tristan Canare, 2021. "Decentralization and Development Outcomes: What Does the Empirical Literature Really Say?," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 237(2), pages 111-151, June.
    9. Biao Huang & Jiebing Wu & Li Ye, 2023. "Fiscal decentralization, intergovernmental mobility, and the innovativeness of local governments' policy response in COVID‐19: Evidence from China," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(2), pages 196-206, May.
    10. Kelly Krawczyk & Raymond Muhula, 2018. "Engaging decentralization in an uncertain political context: Lessons from Liberia," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(3), pages 369-386, May.
    11. Tristan Canare, 2022. "Decentralization and welfare: Evidence from a panel of countries," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(3), pages 767-796, September.
    12. Matthew Sabbi, 2023. "‘We Did Many Projects Together’: Boundary-Spanning Strategies of Councillors in Rural Ghana," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 23(2), pages 183-202, April.
    13. Collen Zalengera & Long Seng To & Richard Sieff & Alison Mohr & Aran Eales & Jon Cloke & Hannah Buckland & Ed Brown & Richard Blanchard & Simon Batchelor, 2020. "Decentralization: the key to accelerating access to distributed energy services in sub-Saharan Africa?," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(3), pages 270-289, September.
    14. Maonei Gladys Mangwanya, 2022. "The performance based budgeting as a catalyst for effective delivery of primary health care," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(1), pages 170-177, January.
    15. Paul Smoke & Mehmet Serkan Tosun & Serdar Yilmaz, 2023. "Subnational government responses to the Covid‐19 pandemic: Expectations, realities and lessons for the future," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(2), pages 97-105, May.
    16. Geiguen Shin & Byong‐Kuen Jhee, 2021. "Better service delivery, more satisfied citizens? The mediating effects of local government management capacity in South Korea," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(1), pages 42-67, January.
    17. Asim, Minahil & Dee, Thomas S., 2022. "Mobile Phones, Civic Engagement, and School Performance in Pakistan," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    18. Maria‐Louise Clausen, 2020. "Decentralization as a strategy of regime maintenance: The case of Yemen," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(2), pages 119-128, May.
    19. Isaac Khambule, 2021. "Decentralisation or deconcentration: The case of regional and local economic development in South Africa," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 36(1), pages 22-41, February.
    20. ElMassah, Suzanna & Mohieldin, Mahmoud, 2020. "Digital transformation and localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).

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