This paper aimed to develop a better understanding of political institutions by assessing the direct and indirect impacts of political decentralisation on economic growth. Institutions as the major drivers of economic growth have been studied extensively in the last two decades and within this context, political institutions have been found to significantly influence the so-called economic institutions that are required to attract investment and accelerate economic growth. The objectives of the study were designed to confirm previous research and determine whether there is a direct relationship between political decentralisation and economic growth or whether there was an indirect relationship mediated through fiscal policy volatility. The study was conducted using a sample of 153 countries that was collected from the World Bank’s databases and regression analysis was used to measure the strength of the association between the variables selected to measure political decentralisation, fiscal policy volatility and economic growth. Since there is no single, universally accepted measure for political decentralisation, senators’ representation of constituencies, local authority over taxation, spending and legislating and the method of appointing municipal government were used as proxies for political decentralisation. The results were mixed but suggested that there are more benefits than drawbacks to political decentralisation. The results of the study showed that senators’ representation of constituencies and local authority over taxation, spending and legislating helped to reduce fiscal policy volatility and confirmed that lower volatility in fiscal policy was correlated with higher economic growth. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Decentralisation is the process through which Central Government transfers authority and functions to sub-national units of the Government and it traces its origin in Uganda from the “ bush” period (1981 – 1986) when Resistance Committees were established by the NRM/A in the Luwero triangle. The Mamdani Commission Report of 1987 on the Local Government system in Uganda recommended devolution of powers. Subsequently, decentralisation was launched in 1992, constitutionalised by the 1995 Constitution, and operationalised by the Local Governments Act (LGA) in 1997. Among the services devolved were education and health, which this study used as case studies to illustrate whether decentralisation has enhanced development in Uganda during the period 1993 – 2006. The study used both primary and secondary data in analysing the linkage between decentralisation and development in the two selected districts in Uganda, namely Masindi and Sembabule. Primary data was collected through interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions while secondary data was gathered through a literature survey of relevant textbooks, newspapers, reports, legislation and journals. The findings of the study established that if decentralisation is properly planned and implemented it can make a meaningful contribution to enhancing development. However, since decentralisation is a process and not a once-off project, it evolves from one stage to another and, as it does so, it also unfolds new challenges and contradictions that need to be effectively addressed. These challenges include aspects relating to the legal framework, as well as political, fiscal and administrative decentralisation. The study recommended mitigation measures to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency, and subsequently the quality of services delivered (development) under decentralised local governance in Uganda.

This study was aimed at assessing the implementation status of the National Decentralisation Policy in Zomba District Council in Malawi given the current situation where the council is operating without ward councilors. It also undertook an exploration of factors affecting the implementation of the National Decentralisation Policy in Zomba District Council and made recommendations which can positively contribute to the effective implementation of the National Decentralisation Policy in Zomba District Council. Using both qualitative and quantitative research design, data for the study was collected using interviews, questionnaires and document analysis. The study found that the implementation of the National Decentralisation Policy in Zomba District Council during the period under study was unsatisfactory. The major challenges to the implementation of the National Decentralisation Policy in Zomba District Council were largely linked to the absence of councilors in the current council setup, violation of legal instruments governing the implementation of the National Decentralisation Policy by the incumbent leadership, lack of political will among the ruling elite to see full implementation of the National Decentralisation Policy, poor performance of structures operating in place of ward and council committees and inadequate finances at the disposal of Zomba District Council. The study concluded that Zomba District Council needed ward councilors to fully implement the National Decentralisation Policy. However the study also observed that it would be impossible to attain the objectives of the decentralization policy if there was no political will on the part of the incumbent leadership to see the National Decentralisation Policy implemented in full at Zomba District Council.

M.S.

This dissertation comprises three empirical essays in political economy. The first essay analyzes the implementation of a French social program by subnational governments following a decentralization reform. Using program implementation data, it shows that local political environments strongly influence implementation decisions after decentralization, and that decentralization results in an overall tightening of benefits. The second essay reports the results of a conjoint field experiment involving German welfare offices. Using random assignment of cues about ethnicity and other characteristics in requests to welfare offices, it is shown that putative non-German applicants receive replies at the same rate as putative Germans, but are disadvantaged in terms of the substantive quality of responses. This suggests that minority populations do experience discrimination when attempting to access social benefits. Finally, the third essay uses micro-level voter file data from Illinois to measure whether property tax limitations reduce participation in local elections. In contrast with prior research, results from panel regressions with matching adjustments suggest that tax limitations do not affect political participation negatively. Together, these essays contribute to our understanding of public finance and social policy in contexts characterized by multi-level governance.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Hu Tianxin. / "August 2003." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 206-220). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / China Area Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Pas de résumé / Doctorat en droit / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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