We measure the contribution of fiscal decentralization to trust in government. Using repeated cross-country survey data of individuals on several measures of trust in government over the 1994-2007 period, we estimate an ordered response model of the government trust and fiscal decentralization...

Canada, Russia, Nigeria, Indonesia, Macedonia, Switzerland, South Africa, China, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Spain, Uganda, the Philippines, Tanzania, India, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Turkey, Serbia, Algeria, Sudan, Moldova, Morocco, Cameroon, even France…What can such...

In this paper we take stock of what the current system of sub-national governments is like in Egypt and then build on this assessment to suggest the form of decentralization that may be both effective and politically feasible. Practically every aspect of intergovernmental relations in Egypt...

Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a small single-party State with an already long but erratic history of decentralization. Political drives towards decentralization and re-centralization have alternated for more than thirty years. Today, provincial governments enjoy a great deal of autonomy...

With over 95% of Iraq’s government budget received from oil revenues, an agreeable inter-governmental framework for managing petroleum resources and for distributing revenues is aptly regarded as the lynchpin of federalism. Iraq has great potential to develop a fiscal framework, consistent...

South Africa is at a crossroads in its decentralization policy. On the one hand, it has declared its intention to strengthen the fiscal powers of local governments. On the other hand, the institutional arrangement necessary to guarantee fiscal decentralization, the power to raise local revenues,...

This paper reviews the current knowledge on an issue of increasing policy interest: what impact fiscal decentralization has on economic growth. Fiscal decentralization may indeed have a direct impact on economic growth but the theoretical underpinnings for this relationship remain largely...

In this report we highlight some of the progress that has been made in the reform of the system of intergovernmental fiscal relations in Macedonia, but we dedicate more space and attention to those areas of the system where challenges still remain. The report is structured along the main pillars...

Recent socio-spatial studies point out a number of ongoing trends in the “scale division of labor of the state,” including among others, “destatization,” "denationalization, and “internationalization.” We draw on the literature in public economics to review several approaches to...

Rule #1 Fiscal decentralization should be viewed as a comprehensive system.Rule #2 Finance follows function.Rule #3There must be a strong central ability to monitor and evaluate decentralization.Rule #4 One intergovernmental system does not fit the urban and the rural sector. Rule #5 Fiscal...