Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery : Some Insights from Pakistan
This paper studies the relationship between devolution, accountability, and service delivery in Pakistan. It examines the degree of accessibility of local policy-makers and the level of competition in local elections, the expenditure patterns of lo...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/04/9392085/devolution-accountability-service-delivery-some-insights-pakistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6713 |
| id |
okr-10986-6713 |
|---|---|
| recordtype |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
okr-10986-67132021-04-23T14:02:31Z Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery : Some Insights from Pakistan Hasnain, Zahid BALLOT BOX BASIC EDUCATION BASIC SERVICES BETTER SERVICE DELIVERY BLOCK GRANTS COMMUNITY MEMBERS CORRUPTION DEBT DEBT SERVICING DEGREE OF ACCESSIBILITY DEMOCRACY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DISCRETION ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ECONOMIES OF SCALE ELECTION ELECTION COMMISSION ELECTORAL POLITICS ELECTORAL SYSTEM ELECTRICITY EQUALIZATION EXPENDITURE RESPONSIBILITIES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS INTEREST GROUPS INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS INVESTIGATION LOCAL ELECTIONS LOCAL GOVERNMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MEDIA MINISTER MINISTERS MONOPOLY MULTIPLE CHANNELS MUNICIPALITIES NATIONAL ELECTIONS NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS PATRONAGE POLICE POLICY IMPLICATIONS POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY POLITICAL LEADERSHIP POLITICAL MOBILIZATION POLITICAL PARTIES POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES POLITICIAN POLITICIANS PRIVATE GOODS PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS PROVINCIAL SPENDING PUBLIC PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC EXPENDITURES PUBLIC GOODS PUBLIC INVESTMENT PUBLIC SECTOR PUBLIC SERVICE PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY PUBLIC SERVICES PUBLIC SPENDING REFORM PROGRAMS RIDER ROAD ROADS ROUTE SANITATION SAVINGS SERVICE DELIVERY SERVICE PROVIDERS TAX TAX REVENUES TRANSPORT TREASURY This paper studies the relationship between devolution, accountability, and service delivery in Pakistan. It examines the degree of accessibility of local policy-makers and the level of competition in local elections, the expenditure patterns of local governments to gauge their sector priorities, and the extent to which local governments are focused on patronage or the provision of targeted benefits to a few as opposed to providing public goods. The main findings of the paper are three-fold. First, the accessibility of policy-makers to citizens in Pakistan is unequivocally greater after devolution, and local government elections are, with some notable exceptions, as competitive as national and provincial elections. Second, local government sector priorities are heavily tilted toward the provision of physical infrastructure - specifically, roads, water and sanitation, and rural electrification - at the expense of education and health. Third, this sector prioritization is in part a dutiful response to the relatively greater citizen demands for physical infrastructure; in part a reflection of the local government electoral structure that gives primacy to village and neighborhood-specific issues, and in part a reaction to provincial initiatives in education and health that have taken the political space away from local governments in the social sectors, thereby encouraging them to focus more toward physical infrastructure. 2012-05-30T21:17:34Z 2012-05-30T21:17:34Z 2008-04 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/04/9392085/devolution-accountability-service-delivery-some-insights-pakistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6713 English Policy Research Working Paper No. 4610 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research South Asia Pakistan |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
BALLOT BOX BASIC EDUCATION BASIC SERVICES BETTER SERVICE DELIVERY BLOCK GRANTS COMMUNITY MEMBERS CORRUPTION DEBT DEBT SERVICING DEGREE OF ACCESSIBILITY DEMOCRACY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DISCRETION ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ECONOMIES OF SCALE ELECTION ELECTION COMMISSION ELECTORAL POLITICS ELECTORAL SYSTEM ELECTRICITY EQUALIZATION EXPENDITURE RESPONSIBILITIES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS INTEREST GROUPS INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS INVESTIGATION LOCAL ELECTIONS LOCAL GOVERNMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MEDIA MINISTER MINISTERS MONOPOLY MULTIPLE CHANNELS MUNICIPALITIES NATIONAL ELECTIONS NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS PATRONAGE POLICE POLICY IMPLICATIONS POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY POLITICAL LEADERSHIP POLITICAL MOBILIZATION POLITICAL PARTIES POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES POLITICIAN POLITICIANS PRIVATE GOODS PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS PROVINCIAL SPENDING PUBLIC PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC EXPENDITURES PUBLIC GOODS PUBLIC INVESTMENT PUBLIC SECTOR PUBLIC SERVICE PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY PUBLIC SERVICES PUBLIC SPENDING REFORM PROGRAMS RIDER ROAD ROADS ROUTE SANITATION SAVINGS SERVICE DELIVERY SERVICE PROVIDERS TAX TAX REVENUES TRANSPORT TREASURY |
| spellingShingle |
BALLOT BOX BASIC EDUCATION BASIC SERVICES BETTER SERVICE DELIVERY BLOCK GRANTS COMMUNITY MEMBERS CORRUPTION DEBT DEBT SERVICING DEGREE OF ACCESSIBILITY DEMOCRACY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DISCRETION ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ECONOMIES OF SCALE ELECTION ELECTION COMMISSION ELECTORAL POLITICS ELECTORAL SYSTEM ELECTRICITY EQUALIZATION EXPENDITURE RESPONSIBILITIES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS INTEREST GROUPS INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS INVESTIGATION LOCAL ELECTIONS LOCAL GOVERNMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MEDIA MINISTER MINISTERS MONOPOLY MULTIPLE CHANNELS MUNICIPALITIES NATIONAL ELECTIONS NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS PATRONAGE POLICE POLICY IMPLICATIONS POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY POLITICAL LEADERSHIP POLITICAL MOBILIZATION POLITICAL PARTIES POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES POLITICIAN POLITICIANS PRIVATE GOODS PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS PROVINCIAL SPENDING PUBLIC PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC EXPENDITURES PUBLIC GOODS PUBLIC INVESTMENT PUBLIC SECTOR PUBLIC SERVICE PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY PUBLIC SERVICES PUBLIC SPENDING REFORM PROGRAMS RIDER ROAD ROADS ROUTE SANITATION SAVINGS SERVICE DELIVERY SERVICE PROVIDERS TAX TAX REVENUES TRANSPORT TREASURY Hasnain, Zahid Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery : Some Insights from Pakistan |
| geographic_facet |
South Asia Pakistan |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper No. 4610 |
| description |
This paper studies the relationship
between devolution, accountability, and service delivery in
Pakistan. It examines the degree of accessibility of local
policy-makers and the level of competition in local
elections, the expenditure patterns of local governments to
gauge their sector priorities, and the extent to which local
governments are focused on patronage or the provision of
targeted benefits to a few as opposed to providing public
goods. The main findings of the paper are three-fold. First,
the accessibility of policy-makers to citizens in Pakistan
is unequivocally greater after devolution, and local
government elections are, with some notable exceptions, as
competitive as national and provincial elections. Second,
local government sector priorities are heavily tilted toward
the provision of physical infrastructure - specifically,
roads, water and sanitation, and rural electrification - at
the expense of education and health. Third, this sector
prioritization is in part a dutiful response to the
relatively greater citizen demands for physical
infrastructure; in part a reflection of the local government
electoral structure that gives primacy to village and
neighborhood-specific issues, and in part a reaction to
provincial initiatives in education and health that have
taken the political space away from local governments in the
social sectors, thereby encouraging them to focus more
toward physical infrastructure. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Hasnain, Zahid |
| author_facet |
Hasnain, Zahid |
| author_sort |
Hasnain, Zahid |
| title |
Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery : Some Insights from Pakistan |
| title_short |
Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery : Some Insights from Pakistan |
| title_full |
Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery : Some Insights from Pakistan |
| title_fullStr |
Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery : Some Insights from Pakistan |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery : Some Insights from Pakistan |
| title_sort |
devolution, accountability, and service delivery : some insights from pakistan |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/04/9392085/devolution-accountability-service-delivery-some-insights-pakistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6713 |
| _version_ |
1764400734756929536 |