Resolving Socioeconomic Disparities through Fiscal Decentralisation in the Republic of Macedonia

This article examines whether fiscal decentralisation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia between 2005 and 2012 has been achieved at the expense of economic and territorial cohesion. It examines the presence of longstanding socioeconomic disparities and rural under-development, before considering whether fiscal decentralisation has: facilitated a more equitable distribution of public resources; created the optimal conditions for expanding citizens’ access to basic services; and reduced socioeconomic disparities between urban and rural areas. The article argues that unless carefully designed and implemented, fiscal decentralisation reforms can have unintended consequences and may actually exacerbate socioeconomic disparities rather than reduce them.     

Decentralisation and recentralisation in the historical development of the local government system in zimbabwe

Local government as an institution constitutes one of the many resources at the disposal of central government for achieving certain ends. The local government system is therefore a means directly related to some perceived ends although in certain cases it can also be pursued as an end in itself. In many countries including Zimbabwe the ends of local government are often unclear and multidimensional including the promotion of local democracy and participation in national politics and development; providing structural framework for the provision of local services, promoting local administrative efficiency and in rather few cases, providing a framework for local economic development.

In many countries local government system is used to either strengthen a top-down hierarchical approach or a bottom-up or horizontal approach to administration and national economic development. Such goals of local government inevitably result in different types of philosophy, administrative theories and strategies, decentralisation models, organisational structures, centre-local relations and the nature of powers ceded to local government by central government. The main theme of this paper is that within the context of Zimbabwe, there has been a major discrepancy between the largely territorial goals or ends to be achieved by post colonial local government transformation and its continuing functional organisation inherited from colonialism. This contradiction is described in the title as decentralisation and recentralisation.     

Decentralisation and government provision of public goods: The public health sector in Uganda

While many developing countries have devolved health care responsibilities to local governments in recent years, no study has examined whether decentralisation actually leads to greater health sector allocative efficiency. This paper approaches this question by modeling local government budgeting decisions under decentralisation. The model leads to conclusions not all favourable to decentralisation and produces several testable hypotheses concerning local government spending choices. For a brief empirical test of the model we look at data from Uganda. The data are of a type seldom available to researchers–actual local government budgets for the health sector in a developing country. The health budgets are disaggregated into specific types of activities based on a subjective characterisation of each activity's ‘publicness’. The empirical results provide preliminary evidence that local government health planners are allocating declining proportions of their budgets to public goods activities.     

Decentralisation and Supply Efficiency: The case of Rural Water Supply in Central India

Demand for decentralisation of provision of public services is gaining ground in developing countries. Also, the policy advice to decentralise given by international agencies to the developing countries is turning into pressure. However, the benefits of decentralisation are not as obvious as the standard theory of fiscal federalism predicts. This article examines the effect of decentralisation of provision of drinking water in central India. The efficiency of water utilities under the control of the state government and those under the local governments is compared in terms of expense and asset utilisation. It is found that the decentralised provision of water supply is less efficient. The possible reasons for this counter intuitive result are analysed.     

Directions in intergoverni1ental management

This paper identifies the emerging concept of intergovernmental management (IGM). As a process that focuses on the routine transactions between governments, IGM has become associated with increased interjurisdictional complexity and the corresponding need to manage. Ten IGM approaches are explained. Research and definitional issues related to this central intergovernmental concept are then raised.     

Organizational development and change in Africa(1)

Little is known about organizational functioning and managerial behavior in Africa. The need for organizational development and change is urgent. Current attempts to reform African public sector organizations tend to focus on mechanistic measures, neglecting the complexity of organizational life. Western approaches to organizational development tend to reflect their cultural milieu and may contain elements which are irrelevant or inimical to African contexts. There is a need to develop concepts and approaches to organizational development and change which are effective and sensitive to African contexts.

Most African nations have been independent for less than four decades. Immense changes have taken place on the African continent during that time. ‘Development’ remains the most common word in the rubric of Africa. Many governments still claim to be ’revolutionary,’ although change since independence has generally not been radical. ’Change’ in education has meant more schools, more teachers, more colleges, more universities: more and more of the Western assumption that education and learning inevitably means schooling. ’Change’ in health provision has meant more hospitals, more imported drugs, more complex procedures, more university trained medical practitioners: more and more of the health arrangements which the rich countries of the West can afford less and less. ’Change’ in organizational arrangements has meant more -- and bigger -- bureaucracies, more ministries, more departments, more parastatal corporations, more bureaucrats, more procedures, more forms, more control mechanisms: more and more of the organizational structures and practices which are now seen to retard change and development.