World Bank (2010) The Political Economy of Decentralization Reforms. Implications for Aid Effectiveness.

This volume presents a preliminary framework designed to help international development partners consider the relevance of political economy issues for their programmatic support to decentralization and local government reform. The purpose is to document the potential value of better understanding how (primarily national and intergovernmental) political and institutional dynamics do or could affect the scope for realizing decentralization reforms aligned with commonly advocated service delivery, governance, and poverty reduction goals. Systematic analysis of these issues can productively complement the dominantly technical diagnostic work typically carried out by development partners.

 Specifically, development partners can benefit from better understanding the practical significance of motives that drive politicians and bureaucrats to support or oppose reform at various stages of the decentralization process, from making an initial reform decision to detailed design and implementation. In addition, the framework addresses how these incentives can weaken, strengthen, or shift in response to changes in political and economic conditions that arise after reform begins. A general approach to conducting political economy of decentralization analysis is outlined, recognizing the need to tailor such analysis to the particular country context. The volume is based on literature reviews and knowledge derived from selected country experiences.

Chapter 6 contains a set of country case studies used to test and demonstrate the utility of the framework, including Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Uganda. The main conclusion is that systematic political economy and institutional analysis can complement the more technical diagnostic and advisory work that is typically carried out by development agencies supporting decentralization programmes.