Niger, a northwest African country with several systemic barriers to development, has made education a priority. In an effort to improve the national education system, Niger has implemented a decentralization program. This study examines the perceptions of local school actors concerning this decentralization policy, which prescribes improving access and quality to education and strengthening institutional capacity. Local interviews and an analysis of relevant policy documents reveal limited policy implementation at the local level accompanied by a lack of state capacity, accountability and responsiveness to local school needs. Moreover, interviewees perceive a decline in education quality due to these reforms. While policy review documents focus on building institutional capacity at the central and regional government levels, the locality examined has responded as best it can to the needs of its schools. These local efforts are hampered by few resources, limited capacity and understanding of the importance of education by citizens, as well as a mistrust in government institutions, including schools, among local community members. Community leadership, development of participatory public space and trust building, could improve local education capacity to a certain extent, however, strong central government that provides additional resources and builds the capacities of school staff is necessary. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

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The development of a "Next Generation Manufacturing System" is currently an active area of research worldwide. The research described in this dissertation addresses one sub-element within this research area; namely, the demonstration of a decentralized, automated production architecture. The goal of the work is to increase the ability of a manufacturing enterprise to respond to rapid technological and market change in the post-2000 global economy. The research is comprised of three objectives; definition of a decentralized organizational structure of autonomous production activities, implementation of the defined organization in a real world manufacturing environment, and a comparison of historical (centralized architecture) performance data and decentralized performance data. To accomplish these objectives, the proposed production architecture is implemented at a real world manufacturing site and performance data are acquired and tested against a stated hypothesis. The research entails the modification of a selected electronics module assembly activity in the following ways: 1) comprehensive automation of assembly processes; 2) simplification of production practice through a minimization of operator interaction and a reduction of assembly transaction points requiring operator intervention; and 3) restructuring of organizational functions resulting in decentralization and operational autonomy. The null hypothesis was successfully rejected and it was shown that the implementation of automation, simplification, and decentralization resulted in an enhancement of production performance (i.e., a reduction in throughput time, labor cost, overhead cost, and total product cost) without degrading production quality. A test of the null hypothesis based on the data indicates a statistically significant (i.e., p less than or equal to 0.05) reduction in throughput time, labor cost, overhead cost, and total product cost while no statistically significant difference in the before and after production quality data was shown. A possible interpretation of these results is that the implementation of automation, simplification, and decentralization did result in a reduction in the labor cost, overhead cost, and total product cost and did not result in a degradation in production quality. / Ph. D.

Globalization, specialization, decentralization, and urbanization are changing social, economic, and ecological conditions for forest landowners throughout the United States. One possible response to these new and recurring challenges is economic cooperatives, an old idea being retooled and reapplied, keeping more of the power, control, and profit generated by natural resource extraction and management in the hands of private forest landowners and local communities. Detailed case studies were carried out on four cooperatives in the Southern Appalachian region. The objectives for this study were: 1) to develop a set of potential criteria/attributes/dimensions/benefits by which these cooperative ventures can be evaluated, 2) to document and understand what mechanisms, institutions, and people will contribute to the success of these cooperatives, 3) to document and understand what obstacles stand in the way of these cooperatives, and 4) to illustrate these findings using four case studies and summarize results in key challenges and keys to success. The four main criteria developed to assess the success or potential success of landowner and business cooperatives were economic feasibility, social feasibility, community enhancement, and ecological sustainability. The results of this study show that cooperative forestry endeavors such as those studied here are reaching out to forest owners missed by traditional service providers and outreach programs. They emphasize a different set of services coming from a different set of trusted sources and can build community capacity, improve ecological qualities, and enhance local economies; however, professional forestry, state and federal governments are only marginally involved with cooperative ventures. Additionally, nine key challenges that forestry cooperatives need to overcome were identified, and twelve keys to success defined. / Master of Science

This thesis seeks to understand the relationship between decentralized service delivery arrangements and the institutional performance of local government in Pakistan. This is achieved by examining the structures and processes associated with local governance, and situating public sector organizations in their wider context. The key aim of this thesis was to empirically evaluate the relationship between decentralization and institutional performance. The thesis contends that problem of service delivery can only be understood by examining the whole system of service delivery. Although, the focus of the research was on public sector management, however, it is argued that public sector organizations cannot be separated from their political environment. To address this concern, the thesis developed a conceptual framework based on three theoretical perspectives; the economic, political and New Public Management. Each perspective focused on a different level of analysis and identified a different way of explaining the phenomenon of decentralization and its impact on institutional performance. The study utilised a comprehensive research methodology to study the link between decentralization and performance through a multiple case study approach. The main empirical elements of the research were a community survey of two communities in two local authorities, an organizational survey of two sectors - education and water and sanitation. Detailed semi-structured interviews were undertaken with multiple stakeholders at various levels of service delivery. The research findings indicate that there is a relationship between decentralization and institutional performance; however the contextual environment plays a significant role in affecting the performance of service provision. The empirical findings indicate that decentralization reforms in developing countries remain focused on structural decentralization and need strong political and bureaucratic commitment for real autonomy to be transferred down the hierarchy. One implication of this research is that it provided a comprehensive assessment of the decentralized service delivery model in Pakistan and identified the nature of reforms developing countries are taking up and the constraints on public sector organizations, and hence contributed to the emerging literature on public management reforms in developing countries (McCourt 2008, McCourt, Martin 2001).

This thesis investigates federalism and civil conflict. Past work linking federalism and civil conflict has investigated the factors that pacify or aggravate conflict, but most such studies have examined the effect of decentralization on conflict onset, as opposed to the form federalism takes (such as congruent vs incongruent forms, for example). I collect data on civil conflict, the institutional characteristics of federalist states and fiscal decentralization. My theoretical expectations are that federations who treat federal subjects differently than others, most commonly in an ethnically based manner, are likely to experience greater levels of conflict incidence and more severe conflict. I find support for these expectations, suggesting more ethnically based federations are a detriment to peace preservation. I close with case studies that outline three different paths federations have taken with regards to their federal subunits.

The aim of this study was to explore and understand the kind of partnership that exists at secondary school level between government, Catholic Church, school administration and parents. And the way these parties perceive and assume their respective duties and responsibilities, and the relationships with one another in the new school decentralised dispensation. By 2000, Rwanda restructured the education system by initiating school decentralisation reforms and devolving more powers and responsibilities to districts, schools and community. The literature on education decentralization, state and non-government provider partnerships in education theories is reviewed to identify the main issues to investigate. This study relies on taped in-depth interviews with school committees‘ members, education officers as well as documents analysis. All this enabled the researcher to answer four research sub-questions: (1) how do school committees perceive and exercise their powers and responsibilities in contributing to school development?; (2) how do school committees and the school administration work together in contributing to school development?; (3) how do Catholic Church authorities contribute to the managerial and/or professional issues and school needs? and; (4) how do the government and the Catholic Church collaborate for school development? The study discovered that, despite the reluctance of school committees to be involved in school financial management, they were eager to be involved in schools governance and school development. They undertook activities aimed at raising school funds, volunteering in school activities requesting their expertise, contributing to some school decision making and attending successfully school meetings. Moreover, results have shown that the school committees and the school community (school principals, teachers and staff) manage to work together to face the challenges of lack of capacity. Even though the Catholic Church financial support to schools has been reduced, the Catholic Church contributes via its teaching to the mobilization of the community for school development, for charitable actions, and collecting funds from aid agencies. The study recommends that the government and Catholic Church continue to collaborate to build the governance capacity of the school committees, that school principals and teachers manage to create a welcoming school environment, that the department establish a system vi support that provides information about schools‘ academic and financial performance relative to other schools, closing the gap in the existing regulations and guidelines on the respective power and responsibilities pertaining to each of stakeholders in partnership for school development. The study recommends further studies on the implementation of school decentralization in remote rural schools; the impact of the socio-economic status of school committee members on their commitment to their children‘s school development; the factors underlying teacher‘s attitude towards their involvement in financial and administrative decision making; and a comparative research of similar non catholic and Catholic schools and how they implement differently school decentralization.

一、研究動機與目的 　　一國財政權限的劃分，係以該國的政治體制為基礎。聯邦型態的國家，例如：美國、德國等，其財政制度較偏向於分權化(Decentralization)；而單一型態的國家，例如：英國、日本等，其財政制度財較偏向集權化(Centralization)；至於我國，根據憲法的精神而言，我國是一均權制的單一型態國家，也就是說中央與地方政府的事權劃分明定於憲法中，其主要意義就是要落實各級政府自治及達到財政自主的理想。但是根據我國財政收支劃分法的規定，租稅的立法權係屬於中央政府，其又含有財政集權化的意思，在省縣自治通則及直轄市自治法尚未完成前，各級地方政府沒有租稅立法權。 　　「財政為庶政之母」，為了使各項公共支出得以順利進行，財源的籌措成為主要的課題，而租稅收入為一國最主要的財源籌措方式之一，而良好的稅目劃分能解決府際間財政垂直與水平的不均，達成財政自主的目標。但是就我國而言，由於各級地方政府沒有租稅立法權，無法支應日趨膨脹的公共支出而有垂直的不均；另外，由於各級地方政府間地理、人文環境及發展程度的不同而有水平的不均，終究其原因，乃是因租稅之稅目劃分制度未臻健全之故。 　　二、研究發現與結論 　　　（一）我國在政治制度上，根據憲法規定，為一均權制的單一國家，但是我國中央政府與地方政府財政權限的劃分，根據憲法與財政收支劃分法的規定，卻具有高度的集權性，也就是說，地方政府沒有租稅立法權，因此造成各級政府財政自主的理想不能實現，並自造成今日在財政上產生嚴重的垂直與水平的不均。 　　　（二）租稅的課徵應符合量能一受益原則，或是R.A. Musgrave所說的領土—忠誠法則。根據我國財政收支劃分法中列為省（市）稅的營業稅及縣（市）稅的土地增值稅，就理論及性質而言，應屬於國稅，由於考慮地方政府財源日益惡化等政策上的考量而將其二稅劃歸成地方政府之稅目，但此二種之成長率波動幅度過大，又違反地方租稅稅收應穩定的原則，對此二稅之重新劃歸定位，實應考慮。 　　　（三）稅收分成是調劑不同級次政府間的財政收入水準，而統籌分配稅則是調劑同級次政府間財政收入的水準。但是現行的稅收分成制度似乎沒有改善財政上垂直不均的問題，因而有提議將國稅中的所得稅與貨物稅收入分成給地方政府，但是利用此種方法反而更加重了水平不均的問題；然而，利用統籌分配稅或補助的方式有助於水平不公平問題的解決，但是由於現行統籌分配的比例太低，造成各級地方政府對其上級政府的補助款依賴極大，且有增加的趨勢，因此，仍不能完全解決水平不均的問題。 　　三、研究建議 　　　（一）制定省縣自治通則及直轄市自治法，再據此制定省自治法及縣自治法，使得各級地方政府擁有租稅立法權、落實地方間財政自主的理想。日前立法院在審議中的「地方稅法通則草案」，將授權省（市）及鄉鎮市公所，視自治財政需要，開徵特產稅、特別稅課及臨時稅課，以及調高部份既有稅目的稅率，以充裕地方政府的財源。此種方法才能真正落實各級地方自治及財政自主的理想。 　　　（二）修訂財政收支劃分法，將原本列為省（市）稅的營業稅及縣（市）稅的地方增值稅改為國稅，以減少此二稅成長率之大幅波動對地方政府租稅穩定的影響。另外，為籌措地方政府收入來源，根據地方政府租稅「受益原則」的理論，可就各級地方政府自行需要而另課以相關新稅目，例如：日本地方政府的住民稅及英國地方政府的社區捐等。 　　　（三）另一種辦法為廢除稅收分成制度，改以統籌分配稅來替代。提高一部或全部營業稅及土地增值稅統籌比例；另外，更可將部份國稅的稅收，納入中央或省（市）統籌的分配款中。唯自利用統籌分配稅的運用，才有助於改善府際間租稅上垂直與水平的不均。

This dissertation examines, both theoretically and empirically, the impact of expenditure decentralization and decision-making in education on education output measured through net enrollment rates, repetition rates, dropout rates, completion rates, and test scores in science at the primary school level. We develop a theoretical model based on a behavioral production function model that investigates the potential direct effects of education decentralization on output, and indirect effects of education decentralization through its impact on family, school and teacher inputs. We develop an unbalanced panel data model of education decentralization by using various econometric estimators on a dataset of fifty-nine countries, developed and developing countries, covering the period 1970-2004 in five-year intervals. The empirical analysis in this dissertation improves upon previous empirical studies of education decentralization by using up-to-date comparative international data over time on measures of education decentralization and various indicators of primary schooling. We find empirical support that expenditure decentralization in education significantly improves repetition rates, dropout rates, completion rates and test scores at the primary school level. We are unable to find a significant effect on primary net enrollment rates. Further, we find that decisions on education planning and personnel management have a greater influence on education output when taken at the intermediate level of government (states and provinces). At the same time we find that allocating decisions on education at the school level can also significantly improve education output. Our empirical results support the hypothesized positive link between education decentralization and education outcomes. Additionally, this study is consistent with the recent trend towards decentralizing education around the world.

This dissertation contributes to the definition of an analytical framework for the study of optimal jurisdictional size for local service delivery. We argue that the standard economics framework for the analysis of optimal jurisdictional size importantly neglects individual preferences for political accountability. Our theoretical model shows that once we take into account such preferences, the optimal jurisdictional size for the provision of local public goods is smaller than in the standard model. We obtain empirical evidence to support our hypothesis from a sample of 197 countries. Our results show that, in fact, demand for political accountability leads to higher jurisdictional fragmentation both in terms of greater number of jurisdictions and smaller average population per jurisdiction. In addition, a meta-analysis of the empirical contributions to the study of economies of scale in the provision of local services shows that the economies of scale expected from service provision to larger jurisdictional sizes may not be present except for a handful of local services, and limited to relatively small population sizes. The results of the meta-analysis signal moderately increasing to constant returns to scale in the provision of traditional local services. In light of these results, we argue that forced jurisdictional consolidation programs across the world justified by perceptions of excessive jurisdictional fragmentation, or by the expectation of large expenditure savings due to economies of scale may have been, thus, erroneously designed. From a policy perspective, multi-layered institutional frameworks for service delivery (including cooperation and privatization among other options) may allow targeting available efficiency gains more efficiently than consolidation.