An Analytical Framework for Assessing Decentralized Local Governance and the Local Public Sector

There is a growing recognition within the global development community that the public
sector in developing and transition countries must be made to function more effectively
and efficiently in the pursuit of their own development and poverty reduction ambitions.
This cannot be done without considering the critical role of the local public sector, since
most (pro-poor) public services are delivered at the local level, whether by the
deconcentrated departments of line ministries or by devolved local government
authorities. While the development community seeks to better understand the complex
interrelations that drive the performance of decentralized political, administrative and
fiscal systems, there is a dearth of relevant comparative information and data when it
comes to the details of these decentralized systems, especially in developing and
transition economies. This paper proposes a comparative decentralization assessment
framework which guides a rapid assessment of a country’s local public sector, including
its political-administrative structures, its system of intergovernmental relations and the
financing and functioning of the country’s decentralized local governments.