Possibilities for Decentralisation in Thailand: A View from Chiang Mai

In this article we examine radical proposals for political, administrative and fiscal decentralisation in Thailand which were developed for Chiang Mai as a potential model for Thailand as a whole. They lay emphasis on local self-government and citizen participation. We argue that these proposals offer a way forward for a Thai decentralisation process that has yet to proceed to the extent envisaged when it was commenced in the 1990s as part of democratisation, embraced most notably in the 1997 Constitution. Moreover, this process, we argue, offers a way out of the extreme confrontation between the yellow and red factions that has troubled Thailand since 2005. As Thailand returns to civilian rule after five years of military government, and local and provincial government comes once more to the fore, we argue that the Chiang Mai Metropolitan Administration Bill of 2013 offer more local democracy as well as imaginative ways of recruiting the enthusiasm of local stakeholders in a system designed to link provincial and local authorities, and the citizenry, in a virtuous circle of democracy and development.

The Effects of Health Sector Fiscal Decentralisation on Availability, Accessibility, and Utilisation of Healthcare Services: A Panel Data Analysis

Background: Fiscal Decentralisation (FD) is a widely implemented decentralisation policy consisting of the allocation of pooling and spending responsibilities from the central government to lower levels of governance within a country. In 2001, The Italian National Health System (SSN) has introduced a strong element of FD, making regions responsible for their own pooling of resources and for their budgets. Despite the relevance, only few studies exist on health sector-FD in Italy, mostly looking at the effects of FD on infant mortality. Methods: This study performs a fixed-effects panel data analysis of Italian Regions and Autonomous provinces between the years 2001 and 2017, to investigate the effects of health sector-FD on availability, accessibility, and utilisation of healthcare services in Italy. Results: FD decreases availability of staff and hospital beds, decreases utilisation of care, measured by hospitalisation rates, and increases interregional patients' mobility for healthcare purposes, a finding suggesting increased disparities in access to healthcare. These effects seem to be stronger for public – rather than private – services, and are more prominent in poorer areas. Conclusion: This evidence suggest that FD has created a fragmented and unequal healthcare system, in which levels of availability, utilisation of, and accessibility to resources – as well as the extent of public sector’s retrenchment – coincide with the wealth of the area.

Citizens’ Perceptions of Local Government Services and Their Trust in Local Authorities: Implications for Local Government in Mauritius

The linkage between local perceptions of municipal services and the level of trust in the local government is an under-researched and yet relevant aspect for a small multi-ethnic island like Mauritius. This research draws from the opinions of some 400 Mauritian inhabitants gathered through a Citizens’ Satisfaction Survey carried out in 2018 to evaluate the attitudes of citizens towards local government services and trigger further research on future options for improving the local government sector. The results from a structural equation modelling (SEM) indicate that satisfaction with local outputs is a significant predictor of trust in local authorities. Trust in public institutions is also found to be a possible mediator in this nexus. Further probing into citizens’ responses reveals that their preferences for local public goods differ across jurisdictions and vary with level of education. Findings also point to a tendency for citizen mobility which can have important implications for improving local services through fiscal decentralisation. JEL Classification: H1, H3, H4

Assessment of the True Origins of Fiscal Decentralisation in the Selected EU Member States

Goals and potential effects of fiscal decentralisation have been analysed in numerous scientific papers and studies. Empirical data shows different or even contradictory results of fiscal decentralisation expansion even though fiscal decentralisation is based on a solid theoretical framework. Fiscal decentralisation might have a positive impact on investment, GDP growth, quality enhancement of healthcare, education and social protection. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence whether fiscal decentralisation was primarily led by the economic or political rationale in the selected EU member states – 11 CEE and SEE countries. The EU integration process created a pressure on new member states which joined the EU between 2004 and 2013 to implement fiscal decentralisation policies. The goal of this paper is to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate whether all analysed countries followed the fiscal decentralisation path and what were the predominant reasons for fiscal recentralisation.

Incomplete Fiscal Decentralisation: An Impediment for Local Economic Development in Ghana

For the past three decades Ghana’s democratic decentralisation policy has sought in vein to establish a local government system capable of pursuing Local Economic Development (LED). One of the major impediments has been the insincere implementation of fiscal decentralisation for the local government to provide the enabling environment for LED. This paper employed primary and secondary data from the Wassa East District Assembly (WEDA) to assess the progress so far in Ghana’s fiscal decentralisation and its effect on LED. The paper highlights the potential benefits of LED and the incapacitation of the District Assembly by the Central government for LED financing. The paper again reveals the effects of the constraints of fiscal decentralisation on LED at the local government level and makes policy recommendations towards effective fiscal decentralisation for improvement in LED.

Impact of Fiscal Decentralisation on Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Aceh Province, Indonesia

This study analyses the impact of fiscal decentralisation policy on economic development and poverty reduction. It focuses on the practice of intergovernmental fiscal transfer and on special autonomy policy in Aceh province, Indonesia, using data from 23 districts gathered from 2008 to 2018. Undertaking a panel data analysis, it will analyse the impact of intergovernmental fiscal transfer from central to local government on local government expenditure. The impact of local government expenditures and fiscal decentralisation practices on local gross domestic product (GDP) and poverty is also measured. The results show that several intergovernmental fiscal transfer policies in Aceh positively enhance the local expenditure. Further, the local government spending and fiscal decentralisation practices in Aceh improve the local GDP and reduce poverty levels in the region.

Economic Provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement

The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) contained a detailed economic blueprint for the “New Sudan”. The provisions of the Wealth Sharing Protocol established institutions and laid out principles to address key issues, including: oil sector management and the sharing of oil revenue; ownership and tenure of land; fiscal decentralisation; transparency and accountability; development and external assistance; currency and banking; and debt. During the Pre-Interim period and the Interim period, these provisions were implemented very selectively. This chapter looks at which parts of the economic agreement were prioritised and which sidelined, and weighs up alternative explanations for these choices. In particular, it assesses whether they can be attributed to the drafting of the original agreement (for example, because key clauses were dictated by outsiders, or had inadequate enforcement mechanisms), or to the changing interests of the parties and observers during implementation. It then considers how far the specific economic provisions and institutions established under the CPA had long-term consequences, whether positive or negative, for the two countries of Sudan and South Sudan, during the 2011 secession and beyond. The aim is to establish lessons that might contribute to the realistic design of future peace settlements.