Public Sector Governance and Accountability Series

Local Governance in Developing Countries edited by Anwar Shah

Description / Contents / Reviews / Full Text  (PDF 3.06 mb)

Globalization and the information revolution are motivating a large and growing number of countries around the globe to reexamine the roles of various levels of government and their partnership with the private sector and civil society. These reforms typically involve shifting responsibilities to local governments and beyond government providers with the objective of strengthening local governance. This movement has generated a large interest in learning from the history of nations as well as from current practices across countries on local government organization and finance. In this context, the experiences of industrial countries, with their diversity of approaches to local governance, can serve as a useful laboratory for developing countries.

This book develops a comparative institutional framework for responsible, responsible, and accountable governance in developing countries. It provides a synthesis of analytical literature on local governance. It traces the historical evolution of local governance and presents a stylized view of alternative models of local governance practiced in various countries. It also presents case studies for eight industrial countries by leading national scholars. The case studies present an in-depth vies of local government organization and finance in each country.

Please click here to purchase this publication.