Administrative decentralization Archives

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[ February 8, 2026 ] How India’s Sixteenth Finance Commission chose stability over disruption Asia
[ February 4, 2026 ] Leadership transition at the Local Public Sector Alliance Local Public Sector Alliance
[ January 31, 2026 ] Devolved health services in Kenya: Access, efficiency, and the unfinished business of devolution Africa
[ January 27, 2026 ] Introducing LPSA’s Monday Minute Community
[ January 26, 2026 ] Can federalism constrain authoritarianism? Decentralization

Multi-Level Governance in the Western Balkans

January 12, 2026 Marina Jandrevska

Multi-level governance (MLG) in the Western Balkans has made notable progress over the past decade, with administrations aligning institutional and legal frameworks to European principles and strengthening the role of local governments in democratic governance […]

What works better: elected leaders or appointed bureaucrats?

November 24, 2025 Limabenla Jamir

A long-running debate in decentralization circles asks whether local governments function better under elected leaders or appointed bureaucrats. Advocates of political decentralization emphasize accountability, community voice, and responsiveness, while supporters of technocratic administration highlight expertise, […]

Exploring Public Employment Trends and Policy Implications in OECD and EU Countries

March 22, 2025 Marina Jandrevska

Subnational governments play a critical role in the provision of public services and infrastructure across OECD and EU nations. These entities are responsible for a significant proportion of public-sector employment, highlighting their importance in the […]

Strengthening evidence and data on subnational government finance and public employment

October 5, 2024 Marina Jandrevska

Local governments are well-positioned to play an important role in inclusive governance and sustainable, localized development in countries around the world. Although legislation often assigns important functional responsibilities to subnational governments, it is much less […]

Will Nepal’s new Federal Civil Service Bill unlock the potential of federalism?

May 3, 2024 Limabenla Jamir

Since the adoption of Nepal’s landmark federal constitution in 2015, a new federal civil service law has been among the most-anticipated legislative actions. Without it, civil servants across Nepal’s three tiers of government have been in […]

Local Government Performance Management in Uzbekistan

September 3, 2022 LPSAManager

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a policy paper which contextualizes the local government performance measurement framework (LGPMF) for Uzbekistan, and provides a starting point for the development of performance indicators and the creation […]

Coordinating public infrastructure across government levels in the United States

February 16, 2022 LPSAManager

For over 25 years, the United states has not had a standing institutional mechanism for intergovernmental coordination between federal, state, and local governments. The last official organization that handled such coordination was the U.S. Advisory […]

Are there economies of scale in local public service provision?

February 14, 2022 LPSAManager

Economies of scale in public service delivery is an important concept in decentralization and localization: does the cost of public service delivery (per household or person) increase when services are delivered by smaller jurisdictions? If […]

A Guide to the Compilation of Subnational Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs)

February 8, 2022 LPSAManager

It is well recognized that in many countries there can be variation in price levels across different areas within the country (states, regions, provinces, etc.). Policymakers and researchers interested in the nature of subnational development […]

The Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index

May 21, 2021 Tianyu Chen

The Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) is a policy monitoring tool developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to promote public administration efficiency, reduce corruption, and better identify and […]