Abstract
In recent decades, decentralisation - the transfer of functions, responsibilities and financial resources to lower levels of government - has become quite a common element of public policy in developing countries. The implementation of decentralisation policies is often driven by economic motives. By transferring responsibilities to lower levels, planning in public policy can become more effective and public funds can be allocated more efficiently. Furthermore, decentralisation is believed to have a positive impact on public policy because projects implemented by lower levels of government are more responsive to local development-related demands. However, many authors also point to the limitations of the local level to generate local development: the capacity to generate external funds is often limited and the executed projects tend to focus on the social sector. This is often the case in relatively small rural municipalities.
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Notes
- 1.
See for a detailed overview Nijenhuis 2002.
- 2.
NGOs are considered far more important in rural areas.
- 3.
MNR: Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (Nationalist Revolutionary Movement).
- 4.
The Law on Administrative Decentralisation, wherein the structure and responsibilities of the departmental level are defined, gives more power to departmental governments and their head, the prefect. This law will not be considered here.
- 5.
To guarantee the implementation of all this, an Oversight Committee (OC: Comité de Vigilancia) has to be established in each municipality. This OC consists of representatives of the population within a municipality.
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Nijenhuis, G. (2010). The Impact of Decentralisation on Local Development: The Case of Bolivia. In: Lindert, P., Verkoren, O. (eds) Decentralized Development in Latin America. GeoJournal Library, vol 97. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3739-8_5
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