Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- PART ONE DESIGNING FISCAL CONSTITUTIONS
- 1 Introduction to Federalism and the Role of Governments in Federal Economies
- 2 The Decentralization of Government Authority
- 3 Expenditure Assignment
- 4 Revenue Assignment
- 5 Natural Resources Ownership and Management in a Federal System
- 6 Local Governance in Theory
- 7 Local Governance in Practice
- PART TWO REVENUE SHARING AND FISCAL TRANSFERS
- PART THREE FINANCE AND PROVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICES
- PART FOUR CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES
- References
- Index
2 - The Decentralization of Government Authority
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- PART ONE DESIGNING FISCAL CONSTITUTIONS
- 1 Introduction to Federalism and the Role of Governments in Federal Economies
- 2 The Decentralization of Government Authority
- 3 Expenditure Assignment
- 4 Revenue Assignment
- 5 Natural Resources Ownership and Management in a Federal System
- 6 Local Governance in Theory
- 7 Local Governance in Practice
- PART TWO REVENUE SHARING AND FISCAL TRANSFERS
- PART THREE FINANCE AND PROVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICES
- PART FOUR CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES
- References
- Index
Summary
INTRODUCTION
The essence of federalism is the decentralization of decision making over some set of economic issues to lower levels of government. Decentralization is a very broad concept. All nations – even so-called unitary ones, with one main level of government that oversees all others – must of necessity engage in some sort of decentralization. For example, public services delivered to persons must at least be administered by agencies close to those being served. Thus, hospitals and schools must be administered by managers who have some degree of discretion over expenditure decisions; local services such as sanitation, water, recreation, and garbage are almost always delivered by local governments; welfare assistance and services are delivered through agencies employing social workers; and so on. What distinguishes federal nations from unitary nations is that the decentralization involves giving significant legislative authority to lower levels of government, as opposed to simply administrative authority. This definition is obviously rather loose. Nations that regard themselves as unitary states nonetheless allow local or regional governments considerable discretion in designing and delivering some public services. On the other hand, in some federal countries, central governments may have considerable power to override or direct legislative decisions of lower-level governments. Indeed, some countries that do not describe themselves as federations (e.g., South Africa) function as effectively as most federal countries do. These are largely semantic issues with which we need not be unduly concerned.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Fiscal FederalismPrinciples and Practice of Multiorder Governance, pp. 61 - 123Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009