Shah, Anwar
Decentralization (Localization) and Corruption New Cross-Country Evidence / Shah, Anwar [electronic resource] : Shah, Anwar - Washington, D.C., The World Bank, 2010 - 1 online resource (38 p.) - Policy research working papers. World Bank e-Library. .
This paper attempts to improve the understanding and measurement of decentralization and its relationship with corruption in a worldwide context. This is done by presenting the conceptual underpinnings of such relationship as well as using superior and more defensible measures of both decentralization in its various dimensions as well as corruption for a sample of 182 countries. It is the first paper that treats various tiers of local governments (below the inter-mediate order of government) as the unit of comparative analysis. In contrast, previous analyses erroneously focused on subnational governments as the unit of analysis which yields invalid cross-country comparisons. By pursuing rigorous econometric analysis, the paper demonstrates that decentralization, when properly measured to mean moving government closer to people by empowering local governments, is shown to have significant negative effect on the incidence of corruption regardless of the choice of the estimation procedures or the measures of corruption used. In terms of various dimensions of decentralized local governance, political decentralization matters even when we control for fiscal decentralization. Further voice (political accountability) is empirically shown to be more important in combating corruption than exit options made available through competition among jurisdictions.
10.1596/1813-9450-5299
Accountability
Accountability in governance
Administrative autonomy
Banks & Banking Reform
Central agencies
Citizen participation
Citizens
Corruption
Decentralization
Decision making
Finance and Financial Sector Development
Fiscal decentralization
Governance
Governance Indicators
Government officials
Local accountability
Local decision making
Local governments
Macroeconomics and Economic Growth
Motivations
National Governance
Politicians
Public health
Public sector
Public Sector Corruption & Anticorruption Measures
Public Sector Development
Revolution
Subnational Economic Development
Transparency
Decentralization (Localization) and Corruption New Cross-Country Evidence / Shah, Anwar [electronic resource] : Shah, Anwar - Washington, D.C., The World Bank, 2010 - 1 online resource (38 p.) - Policy research working papers. World Bank e-Library. .
This paper attempts to improve the understanding and measurement of decentralization and its relationship with corruption in a worldwide context. This is done by presenting the conceptual underpinnings of such relationship as well as using superior and more defensible measures of both decentralization in its various dimensions as well as corruption for a sample of 182 countries. It is the first paper that treats various tiers of local governments (below the inter-mediate order of government) as the unit of comparative analysis. In contrast, previous analyses erroneously focused on subnational governments as the unit of analysis which yields invalid cross-country comparisons. By pursuing rigorous econometric analysis, the paper demonstrates that decentralization, when properly measured to mean moving government closer to people by empowering local governments, is shown to have significant negative effect on the incidence of corruption regardless of the choice of the estimation procedures or the measures of corruption used. In terms of various dimensions of decentralized local governance, political decentralization matters even when we control for fiscal decentralization. Further voice (political accountability) is empirically shown to be more important in combating corruption than exit options made available through competition among jurisdictions.
10.1596/1813-9450-5299
Accountability
Accountability in governance
Administrative autonomy
Banks & Banking Reform
Central agencies
Citizen participation
Citizens
Corruption
Decentralization
Decision making
Finance and Financial Sector Development
Fiscal decentralization
Governance
Governance Indicators
Government officials
Local accountability
Local decision making
Local governments
Macroeconomics and Economic Growth
Motivations
National Governance
Politicians
Public health
Public sector
Public Sector Corruption & Anticorruption Measures
Public Sector Development
Revolution
Subnational Economic Development
Transparency