Abstract / Excerpt:

Decentralization is a state-led development initiative that transfers authority, responsibility, and resources from the central to the lower levels of government. It is simply the legal and political process of empowering the local.

Full Text

The Empowerment of the Local
Decentralization is a state-led development initiative that transfers authority, responsibility, and resources from the central to the lower levels of government. It is simply the legal and political process of empowering the local.
This development concept arose from a period in history when there was an almost universal disillusionment over the system of centralized governance. During the 1970s, many national governments failed miserably to efficiently deliver the services the public required. Furthermore, the growing economic challenges of the day exposed the insufficiency of the centralize approach to economic development planning. In response, struggling nation-states shifted, albeit cautiously, to a decentralized system of governance. The common belief at that time was that devolving certain functions to local governments and agencies would ease the gridlock in the delivery of basic services and would accelerate economic development as well. Significantly, decentralization was actually touted as a sure-fire "cure" for a host of socio-political maladies in developing countries.

Info

Source Journal	Mindanao Law Journal
Journal Volume	Mindanao Law Journal Vol.4 No.4
Authors	Atty. Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco
Page Count	12
Place of Publication	Davao City
Original Publication Date	January 1, 2013
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