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Ukrainian women embroider a map of Ukraine with the different flags of the regions in the country during a pro-Ukranian meeting in the southern coastal town of Mariupol September 13, 2014. VASILY FEDOSENKO/REUTERS

Constitution Making in Ukraine: Refocusing the Debate

April 15, 2016 LPS Initiative

Among the triggers and demands of Ukraine’s 2013–2014 Euromaidan antigovernment protests were fundamental concerns that go to the heart of the country’s constitutional architecture. Yet, the two main dimensions of constitutional reform pursued since 2014—judicial […]

Forms of Government Decentralization and Institutional Quality: Evidence from a Large Sample of Nations

April 11, 2016 LPS Initiative

Decentralization on government functions can improve institutional quality and government functions. Over time, the manners in which governments provide services to their populations have changed due to administrative capacities and technology; the physical and fiscal traditional […]

Metropolitan Governance is the Missing Link in Australia’s Reform Agenda

April 5, 2016 LPS Initiative

Without metropolitan governance that is responsive to city residents’ wishes, states are much influenced by federal priorities – that is, by the money on offer. Perhaps all Western countries with which Australia might choose to […]

How Well Do Subnational Borrowing Regulations Work?

April 1, 2016 LPS Initiative

There are many positive aspects associated with subnational borrowing, including additional funding and promoting intergenerational equity. However, it may also endanger fiscal sustainability and macro stability due to moral hazard and soft budget constraints, making borrowing controls justified […]

Decentralization for Peace in Turkey, Iraq and Syria

March 30, 2016 LPS Initiative

Decentralization through administrative reform is the solution for the Kurdish question in Turkey and its immediate neighborhood. The Republic of Turkey is ill. The violent upheaval taking place just over the border in Iraq and […]

The Fiscal Cost of Weak Governance : Evidence from Teacher Absence in India

March 25, 2016 LPS Initiative

The central and state governments in India have considerably increased spending on primary education over the past decade, however effectiveness of these increase government spending needs to be examined further. In this paper, Muralidharan, et al […]

Density and the Cost of Municipal Public Services in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico

March 21, 2016 LPS Initiative

Dense cities are a rational choice for the increasingly urban world, where concerns about environmental sustainability and urban sprawl are paramount (UN-Habitat, 2012). Among their many advantages, dense cities help preserve fertile rural lands, decrease […]