Many claims are made in favour of decentralisation, ranging from the democratic value of increased local participation to improved service delivery, particularly for poorer, disadvantaged groups. But this is based on theory, not practice: there is little overall evidence that links processes of decentralisation to positive development outcomes.

Delivery of public services, from water provision to health and education, is no longer considered the exclusive right of central government in many countries. Increasingly, local government, private organisations and civil society are involved in service delivery. An article from the Institute of Development Studies, in the UK, reviews evidence from the developing world to see if decentralisation has improved the quality and accessibility of health, education and infrastructure services.

Decentralisation, whereby power is shifted from central state agencies to local agencies, can be financial, administrative, or political. Financial or administrative decentralisation transfers power to local state agencies that are not accountable to the public through democratic elections. In political or democratic decentralisation, elected local governments are responsible for delivering services. The type of decentralisation involved has an important impact on the processes of participation, accountability and the responsiveness of local agencies, and therefore on the nature of services provided too.

Supporters of decentralisation claim financial, efficiency and quality gains in service delivery through the use of local agencies that not only make better use of local resources but also understand local needs and preferences. But decentralisation also involves the risk of local elites ‘capturing’ power and resources, worsening access for poorer groups, and local government falling short in terms of technical or managerial capacity.

Key findings from decentralisation in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia include:

• Poor and socially marginalised people have not in general benefited from improved access to services.
• The quality of public services has generally not improved, with increasing gaps between wealthier and poorer areas, for example in health care services in Chile.
• There have been gains in efficiency through financial decentralisation, but resources have not been adequate.
• Political and institutional conditions have a significant impact on decentralisation outcomes and user satisfaction: in Africa lack of real devolution has undermined programmes.
• It is difficult to generalise on the basis of limited evidence, especially from South Asia.

The paper identifies conditions under which decentralisation could result in better access to improved services:

• political commitment from central and local governments, focusing on the needs of poor people
• political leadership, such as that shown by powerful, directly elected mayors in Colombia
• political mobilisation of poor people, either through local units of political parties for electoral purposes or to push for effective implementation of reforms, or through civil society
• institutionalised participation, for example through health councils and school boards
• adequate financial resources from central government, or increasing the revenue-raising powers (for example, taxation) of local government
• technical and managerial capacity, which means not only the ability to plan, budget, implement and monitor service delivery, but also to respond to customers appropriately.

Source(s):
‘Does Decentralisation Improve Equity and Efficiency in Public Service Provision?’, Institute of Development Studies Bulletin, Vol.38, No.1, IDS: Brighton, by Mark Robinson, 2007

id21 Research Highlight: 16 August 2007

Further Information:
Mark Robinson
Policy and Research Division
UK Department for International Development (DFID)
1 Palace Street
London SW1E 5HE
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 70230000
Fax: +44 (0)20 70230636
Contact the contributor: mark-robinson@dfid.gov.uk

Department for International Development, UK

Institute of Development Studies
at the University of Sussex
Brighton
BN1 9RE, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1273 606261
Fax: +44 (0)1273 621202

Institute of Development Studies, UK