Political economy Archives – Decentralization Net

How intergovernmental fiscal transfers shape local democracy

January 19, 2026 LPS Alliance

Intergovernmental fiscal transfers are among the most powerful, and least visible, instruments in multilevel governance systems. They shape how resources flow across levels of government, determine the fiscal space available to local authorities, and influence […]

Unlocking Zambia’s Property Tax Potential: A Path Toward Inclusive Reform

August 25, 2025 Marina Jandrevska

Effective property taxation is contingent on comprehensive property identification. In Zambia, as in many low- and middle-income countries, the first step toward fiscal inclusion is the systematic discovery and recording of properties, creating a fairer […]

Centralization, Elite Capture, and Service Provision: Evidence From Taiwan

July 27, 2025 LPS Alliance

Champions of decentralization often argue that decentralization reforms have the potential to achieve a more inclusive and efficient public sector. This notion is based on the assumption that local governments—being closer to the people—are more […]

The implementation of decentralization reforms in multi-level systems

February 8, 2025 Limabenla Jamir

Decentralization is often viewed as a legal and constitutional process, but the reality is far more complex. In multi-level governance systems, the distribution of power between central and regional governments is not solely determined by […]

Coming soon: LPSA’s Thematic Working Group on Local Democracy

September 25, 2023 LPS Alliance

When a country is committed to inclusive governance, democracy, and community-led development, it will empower its citizens to address their collective challenges as close to the people as efficiently possible by empowering their local governments […]

It’s about time we reform local government. Or is it?

June 25, 2023 LPS Alliance

The British satire show Yes Minister, popular in the early 1980s, was unique in its display of the inner-workings of government. In the short clip below, Sir Humphrey Appleby (the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry […]

Does India love its local governments?

April 27, 2023 LPS Alliance

This year is the 30th anniversary of the passing of the 73rd and 74th Amendments. Indian governance was always overcentralized. But it is a sign of the times that even the modest steps these amendments […]

Towards a Decentralized Haitian State

July 30, 2022 LPS Alliance

Decentralization was a prominent theme throughout Haiti after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near the capital in January 2010, killing up to 300,000 people in just 35 seconds, and again more recently in August 2021 […]

Iraq Faces Major Governance Challenges—Can Decentralization Help?

July 15, 2021 LPS Initiative

Over the last year Iraq’s economy has been in free fall, leading to a recent decision to devalue its currency, the dinar, by 23 percent. As the country deals with intersecting economic, political and security […]

Different perspectives on decentralization and localization in a stove-piped world

June 15, 2021 Jamie Boex

The study of decentralization and localization deals with how multi-level government systems work. The goal of most policy practitioner or researchers, however, is often not to study decentralization or localization for the sake of understanding […]