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Decentralization and Local Governance in MENA : A Survey of Policies, Institutions, and PracticesEntering the 21st century, the 1999-2000 World Development Report (WDR), identifies two main forces that are shaping the world in which development policy is being defined and implemented: (i) globalization, the increasing worldwide integration of private sector interaction and commercial relationships; and (ii) localization, a process of devolving fiscal and administrative roles and responsibilities from central to sub-national tiers of government. It goes on to note that these global-private and local-public pressures are not only reinforcing, but also challenging traditional paradigms and forms of intergovernmental systems. Political decentralization, often associated with pluralistic politics and representative government, aims to give citizens more say in public policy and decision-making. Its advocates assume that decisions made with greater participation will be better informed and more relevant to diverse interests in society than those made only by national political authorities. The concept implies that the selection of representatives from local electoral jurisdictions allows citizens to know better their political representatives and allows elected officials to know better the needs and desires of their constituents. Administrative decentralization aims to redistribute authority, responsibility and financial resources for providing public services among different levels of government. It typically takes three forms: de-concentration, delegation and devolution. Fiscal decentralization vests greater autonomy and authority with local governments in matters of fiscal importance, empowering local governments to generate their own revenues, through taxes and user charges, as well as determining their expenditure priorities based on a clear assignment of functions and responsibilities. Over the last two decades, it has been estimated that more than 100 countries, most of them in the developing world, have experimented with various forms of decentralization.
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Croatia : Fiscal (De)centralization and Public Service DeliveryThis report discusses the contours of a
 possible strategic direction, the necessary basic
 institutional set up for implementation, and key reform
 policy options to be tackled in order to complete the
 foundations of the decentralization reform initiated in
 2001. Croatia is still a highly centralized country in terms
 of decision making on public service financing and delivery,
 as compared to most of the new European Union members. One
 indicator is that the sub-national Government's budget
 still corresponds to five percent of GDP, while in the newly
 accessed countries it was about eight percent on average in
 their immediate pre-accession phase. The Government of
 Croatia is conscious about the critical importance of
 improving citizens' voice, transparency and
 accountability on public affairs, especially on matters of
 local interest, in order to increase efficiency on public
 service delivery and rapidly converge to European Union
 standards on a sustainable basis. The Government started its
 decentralization reforms in July 2001, although they have
 not yet adequately implemented them to make the reform
 process sustainable.
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Local BudgetingThis publication, Local Budgeting, provides a comprehensive guide for local administrators who are involved in designing and implementing budgetary institutions and who wish to improve efficiency and equity in service delivery and to strengthen internal and external accountability. It details principles and practices to improve fiscal management. It reviews techniques available in developing countries for forecasting revenues and expenditures, and it examines institutional arrangements for ensuring transparency and fiscal discipline. In addition, it outlines some strategies to deal with corruption in local revenue administration. With respect to budgeting, the volume discusses the decisions that need to be made in determining budget format and layout, including the scope of the budget, the degree of transparency of the legal requirements underlying the budget, and the extent to which the budget will emphasize inputs, outputs, and outcomes. Local Budgeting also discusses the role of the capital budget. It details how performance budgeting can serve as a tool for results-based accountability to citizens. It helps the non-specialist reader learn how to interpret budget documents to discover what the government is doing and how well it is performing its tasks. It highlights approaches to stakeholder inputs in the budget process. Finally, it explores the role of budget execution in ensuring management flexibility while enhancing democratic accountability.