Managing Public Sector Decentralization in Developing Countries: Moving Beyond Conventional Recipes
| Published date | 01 October 2015 |
| Author | Paul Smoke |
| Date | 01 October 2015 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1736 |
MANAGING PUBLIC SECTOR DECENTRALIZATION IN DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES: MOVING BEYOND CONVENTIONAL RECIPES
PAUL SMOKE*
New York University, USA
SUMMARY
Decentralization has become a nearly universal feature of public sector reform in developing countries, but it has unevenly met
the often considerable and diverse expectations placed on it. This paper contends that the popular reform has been framed and
assessed in standardized—yet disjointed and incomplete—ways that do not offer a suitably robust basis for its effective appli-
cation. Decentralization is a complex process that is pursued in variable environments, and superficial commonalities that sug-
gest routine remedies are often overwhelmed by great heterogeneity in how it is perceived and unfolds in context. The drivers of
diversity—the country setting, national and local political and bureaucratic dynamics, available resources and capacities, and in
some cases the role of aid agencies, among others—shape what is intended and what is feasible relative to normative goals.
Deeper attention to these factors can inform possibilities for more appropriate design and implementation. This paper discusses
basic elements of the persistent decentralization challenge and outlines a preliminary approach to broaden contextual analysis
and to define pragmatic ways to tap its potential more productively. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
key words—decentralization; local governance; local public management; implementation
Decentralization has created fundamental changes in how public functions, and resources are managed globally. Of-
ficial policies frame it as a means to pursue various goals, including improved service delivery, governance, account-
ability, and economic/social development.
1
trend has reaped some success, but much of the evidence suggests
mediocre performance and ample challenges. Despite this, many countries continue to embrace some form of decen-
tralization, affirming that it is motived by factors beyond stated objectives. This highlights a need for analysts to go
beyond conventional thinking as they try to attain prospective benefits and limit potential harm. More robust assess-
ment of how and why decentralization takes a specific form and yields observed results is needed.
The core premisehere is that decentralization has been framedthrough standardized—but simplifiedand fragmented
—frameworks rather than through the type of nuanced and multifaceted approach needed for effective reform. The ba-
sic expectation is that any decentralization will i mprove some aspect of how local government functions, but there is no
consensusabout priorities. A localelection is an end in itselffor some, while others seeelections as a means to improve
local resourceuse, which under someconditions may be betterrealized through deconcentrated management than local
representative democracy. The decentralization “gold standard”in recent years has been devolution, encompassing
broad administrative, fiscaland political reforms in thebelief that empowered, autonomous, and downwardly account-
able local governments produce better outcomes.
2
This approach, however, will not always be desirable or feasible.
The overarching argument is that decentralization is a heterogeneous phenomenon that must be adapted to spe-
cific circumstances and objectives and that its form (as a public sector restructuring exercise) will have different
*Correspondence to: P. Smoke,Robert F. Wagner GraduateSchool of Public Service,New York University, NewYork, NY, USA. E-mail: paul.
smoke@nyu.edu
1
Selected recent overviews include Boex and Yilmaz (2010), Connerley et al. (2010), Eaton et al. (2011), Martinez-Vazquez and Vaillancourt
(2011), Bahl et al. (2013), Faguet (2014), and Smoke (2015a).
2
These issues are discussed in the references in note 1, particularly Connerley et al. (2010).
public administration and development
Public Admin. Dev. 35, 250–262 (2015)
Published online in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pad.1736
Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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