For example, John Cohen and Norman Uphoff examine degrees of participation along

three dimensions: kinds of participation (in decision making, implementation, ben

efits, and evaluation), identity of participants (including residents, leaders,
government personnel, and foreign personnel), and how participation occurs (the
basis, form, extent, and effect of participation).58 David Deshler and Donald Sock
distinguish “genuine participation,” which can include either citizen control or
cooperation, with delegated power or partnership agreements between citizens and
agencies, from “pseudo-participation,” which can include placation, consultation,
or information without power sharing, as well as “therapy” and manipulation.

Countries that have avoided or successfully tackled corruption have tended, on

average, to promote competition and entry in the economy, avoid ing too much power
in the hands of large monopolies such as those in the energy sector in many
countries, and have ensured that privatized firms faced competition; promoted civil
service professionalism, with improved pay and incentives for public servants; made
public expenditures more transparent, with clearer rules of procurement and
budgeting; reduced immunity from prosecution of executive, legislative, and
judicial figures; provided judicial independence; established and enforced
meritocratic, transparent promotion policies; and eliminated inefficient
regulations and made needed ones more transparent.

Recently, trends toward decentralization and greater urban self-government have

been growing in the developing world as democracy has spread in Latin America and
elsewhere, and the political process has allowed for providing greater autonomy,
notably more fiscal autonomy, for regional and local levels of government.

With genuine and full participation by beneficiaries on what projects are chosen
and in the way that development assistance gets used more generally, we should
expect less cor ruption and greater development results per dollar of aid spent.

Overall, the projects would rank very high in participation typologies such as
that of Cohen and Uphoff, providing for sub stantial participation in decision
making, implementation, benefits, and evalu ation.

Development Participation If the goal of economic growth is human development,

then without par ticipation, we could have economic growth without development.

Donors and developing-country governments need to develop ways to reward

participation, but a big part of the problem is the superficiality of what passes
for participation in the field.

Decentralization in Brazil to its 26 states and some 5,000 municipalities dates at

least to the 1891 constitution, but the recent period of devolution of authority
started with the constitutional reform of 1989, which gave new authority and
responsibilities to the states and developed fiscal federalism, increasing the
local share of government resources.

Such a level of participation may bring benefits, but not normally the socially
transformative benefits of genuine participation.

But in most cases, mechanisms of genuine participation are not in place; doing so
may take years, even with the full coop eration of national government and local
power brokers.