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South East Europe Municipal Finance Review : Local Government Finance in the Western BalkansThis report addresses the limited access
 to local governments of data and knowledge of municipal
 finance issues in South East Europe (SEE). The objective of
 the analytical work under the SEE Municipal Finance Review
 (MFR) aims to (i) contribute to improved understanding of
 local government management and finance in the SEE Region;
 and (ii) contribute to improving the quality and consistency
 of key municipal finance data for improved evidence based
 policy making. The analysis presented in this report
 comprises the first attempt to review and analyze a regional
 set of disaggregated sub-national finance data in the SEE
 Region. Main findings of the MFR are presented in this
 report. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2
 provides an overview of the decentralization framework in
 the SEE Region, including on the administrative and
 political structure of sub-national governments, their
 population size and distribution, and the service functions
 assigned to local governments. Chapter 3 explains in more
 detail the local government finance framework. This includes
 an overview of the structure and composition of sub-national
 finances, in particular (i) revenue and expenditure
 assignments; (ii) transfers and intergovernmental fiscal
 relations; and (iii) the evolving framework and realities of
 sub-national borrowing and debt. Chapter 4 provides a
 summary of the key trends and findings from the
 cross-country, regional analysis, complemented by detailed
 analysis of the disaggregated datasets, where available.
 Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes conclusions and provides some
 recommendations for a possible way forward. In the medium to
 long term, access to municipal finance information would
 contribute to increasing transparency and accountability of
 local governments, improving revenue collection and
 expenditure performance, optimizing budget allocation
 procedures, and strengthen local authorities' role and
 position in intergovernmental fiscal considerations and
 negotiations in the SEE countries.
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Kyrgyz Republic Public Expenditure Review Policy Notes : Intergovernmental Fiscal RelationsIntergovernmental fiscal relations have
 advanced over the last decade in the Kyrgyz Republic. Since
 the previous public expenditure review in 2004, the
 government of the Kyrgyz Republic has developed a number of
 policy changes in the area of intergovernmental fiscal
 relations. These policy changes helped the country to
 introduce a more transparent and equitable system of local
 government financing. Still, effective decentralization
 continues to face challenges. A set of policy
 recommendations for the government to consider are designed
 to clarify the role of local government and provide better
 incentives for improved service delivery. These are based on
 a review of the four pillars of intergovernmental fiscal
 relations in Kyrgyz Republic: (i) the expenditure assignment
 (of who does what); (ii) revenue assignment (with what
 resources) assignment; (iii) the system of transfers; and
 (iv) borrowing. In this context, the report is structured as
 follows: section one gives executive summary. Section two
 provides a brief description of the institutional context in
 terms of the structure of government and the elements of
 political and administrative decentralization. Section three
 analyzes the delineation of expenditure responsibilities
 among government tiers. Section four analyzes revenue
 sources assigned to each tier of government. Section five
 focuses on the system of intergovernmental transfers.
 Section six examines subnational public investments and
 borrowing. In each of these sections main issues and
 problems are identified in the current system and the
 desired directions for reform are pointed out.
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Service Delivery with More Districts in Uganda : Fiscal Challenges and Opportunities for ReformsUgandan decentralization efforts of the 1990s represented an unusually authentic and powerful local government reform, compared to similar efforts pursued in many other low-income countries. However, over time the changing interests of the central agencies, dissatisfaction with service outcomes, and the overall dynamics of the country's governance resulted in the adoption of a number of re-centralizing policies. The objective of this report is to take stock of the fiscal and institutional arrangements for service delivery by local governments in the context of district proliferation and in view of recent trends in national public finance, as well as to identify policy options that could facilitate improved service delivery. The report finds that, while district proliferation has not had any major effect on public finances so far, it may have serious adverse effects in the future if the institutional structures and funding mechanisms of district governments are not adjusted to the new realities. Its effect on public expenditure has been rather small since an increasing number of positions in district governments remain vacant, and because a recent bout of inflation has eroded their wage bills. Furthermore, at present the average population of a district is roughly equivalent to that of similar jurisdictions in other countries. The report concludes with a number of institutional and fiscal proposals designed to reduce this risk and to improve value-for-money in service delivery more generally. If Uganda manages to use district proliferation as an opportunity to implement these changes, the resulting fiscal savings and improvements in value-for-money would make it much easier to cover the costs of that process.