World Bank Archives – Decentralization Net

How decentralization is shaping economic development in Burkina Faso

November 24, 2025 Lynn Wambu

Over the past few decades, decentralization has become a key reform strategy across sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to bring the government closer to the people and boost local development. Burkina Faso offers a compelling case. A […]

Empowering Local Governments in the Western Balkans for Climate Resilience

June 11, 2025 Marina Jandrevska

The Western Balkans consists of six upper-middle-income economies: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. These economies have shown significant growth over the past two decades, with a doubling of their economic […]

Expert Panel: Working Effectively in Multi-Level Governance Contexts

May 11, 2024 Limabenla Jamir

The World Bank invites world leaders, experts, and practitioners to participate in the Public Administration Global Forum on Transforming Governments for a Livable Planet, to be held in Washington, D.C., from May 28th – 29th, 2024. […]

The World Bank Multilevel-Governance and Decentralization for Delivery Program

December 17, 2023 LPS Alliance

The role that decentralization plays in public sector management around the world is evolving. Whereas decentralization has traditionally been pursued in countries as a governance reform to increase political competition and to bring the public […]

The concept of personal income tax piggybacking

November 30, 2023 Marina Jandrevska

Subnational governments frequently struggle with a vertical fiscal gap, which occurs when there is a gap between the functions or expenditure responsibilities and the financial resources available to them. This vertical fiscal gap results in […]

Thriving: Making Cities Green, Resilient, and Inclusive in a Changing Climate

July 5, 2023 LPS Alliance

Between 1970 and 2021, the number of people living in cities increased from 1.19 billion to 4.46 billion, while the Earth’s surface temperature climbed by 1.19°C above its preindustrial level. Because of the prosperity they […]

A Look at the Brazilian Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer System

April 2, 2023 LPSAManager

An ideal intergovernmental fiscal transfer system should consider–to the greatest possible extent–existing disparities in expenditure needs and fiscal capacity across subnational governments and allocate funds in a manner that equalizes local governments’ ability to provide […]

Performance-Based Fiscal Transfers for Urban Local Governments

January 4, 2023 LPSAManager

The ability of cities and municipalities to effectively deliver infrastructure and services and productively manage built environments and local economies depends on their institutional capabilities, quality of local governance, and financial resources at their disposal. […]

Improving Effective Coverage in Health: Do Financial Incentives Work?

November 9, 2022 LPSAManager

In many low- and middle-income countries, health coverage has improved dramatically in the past two decades, but health outcomes have not. As such, effective coverage—a measure of service delivery that meets a minimum standard of […]

Subnational Competitiveness Grants Guidebook

August 23, 2022 LPSAManager

The World Bank Group published a guidebook for practitioners to promote policy actions that strengthen competitiveness at the subnational level. This guidebook introduces Subnational Competitiveness Grants (SCGs) as an innovative approach in which well-tested tools […]