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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. 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.
    2. Singh, Richa & Bhattacharjee, Sankalpa & Nandy, Amarendu, 2024. "Fiscal decentralization for the delivery of health and education in Indian states: An ongoing process is more desirable than a policy shift," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 254-271.
    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. repec:osf:thesis:xef7a_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Argentino Pessoa, 2008. "Educational Reform in Developing Countries: Private Involvement and Partnerships," FEP Working Papers 284, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    6. 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.
    7. Davison Muchadenyika, 2017. "Civil society, social accountability and service delivery in Zimbabwe," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35, pages 178-195, October.

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