03 (Three) Years BSC In CSE

Part of Final Assignment

Course Title : Government And Sociology
Course Code : Hum-2141

Presentation About Importance of

Decentralization in Bangladesh

Submitted By Submitted To

Gazi Abid Raihan Mr. Md Sakil Ahmed sir

ID : 20193007011 Assistant Professor,
CSE-2/1 Fall-2020 North Western
University,Khulna
Date of Submission : 19/01/2021
Decentralization Theories
RATIONAL CHOICE (Tiebout Model):
A large number of municipalities, each offering a
unique bundle of non-rival goods. Each household
vote with its feet by selecting the municipality that
offers the quantity-price bundle best suited to its own
preferences. “Voting with your feet”
 In summary, this model calls for a large number of
municipalities (decentralized government) that will
offer choices to customers (citizens)
Decentralization Theories
PRINCIPLE-AGENT
Governments are principals and agents at the same time in
the network of governmental coordination (federal
government is the agent of the principal –states- which are
the agent of the citizens –the principle.
The P-A dilemma consists in devising a set of rules –
incentives and disincentives- that will ensure that the agent
(government) will act on behalf the interests of the
principle (citizens)
In sum, this theory focus on intergovernmental rules
Decentralization Theories
NORMATIVE THEORIES AND THE PRINCIPLE OF
SUBSIDIARITY

A given public service should be entrusted to the lowest

level of government that is capable of effectively
delivering the service.
Historical Background: The Role of central
Government
The state played a key role in the The State play the role of
formation of the nation- facilitating capital
state accumulation rather than
leading the way.
1. To coordinate policy
1. Sound macroeconomic
2. To unite diverse interests
management (Accumulation
and groups
function)
3. To fill the vacuum of a
 Fiscal policy
“capitalists” or
entrepreneurial class  Macroeconomic policy
4. To accelerate the process of 2. Intergovernmental
development coordination
3. Representative government
(legitimization)
The Crisis of the state
1. Developing Nations  OUTCOMES
 Foreign debt 1. Successful transitions (Chile,
 Macroeconomic Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Czech,
Mismanagement Botswana, South Africa)
 Lack of representative and 2. Failed states (Congo, Iraq,
democratic governments Rwanda,)
2. Former Communists 3. Fragmented States (Yugoslavia,
countries USSR)
 Collapse of the economic 4. Still struggling (Romania,
model Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Bolivia,
 Democratization etc.)
movements
 Credibility crisis
What factors determine a successful
transition?
 State disintegration is not a function of the degree of
central control or the balance of power between the
center and the periphery, but of the existence and
effectiveness of institutions that mediate center-
periphery grievances.
1. Ability of the center to provide selective incentives to the
regions, and the regions’ ability to engage in strategic
bargain
2. Disincentives for external support to regional separatists
3. Diffusion of civic separatism
4. Center-periphery check and balance
 Types of Decentralization
TYPE CRITERIA

POLITICAL Democratization, citizen participation,

legitimate government (s)

SPATIAL Balance pattern of regional development:

Primacy vs. Mature urban hierarchy

ADMINISTRATIVE Transfer of functions with regards to

planning, management, allocation of
resources
MARKET Transfer of some responsibilities from the
State’s domain to the market
Rationale for Decentralization
DECENTRALIZATION ATTEMPTS TO:
Improve allocative efficiency
Improve production efficiency
Improve quality, transparency, accountability and
legitimacy
Greater equity
Modes of Decentralization

DECONCENTRATION

DELEGATION

DEVOLUTION
Modes of Decentralization
DECONCENTRATION
Transfer of functions, powers and resources
The center executes normative functions, supervision
and control
States are responsible for operational activities & service
programs
It is mostly and administrative action and does not alter
the flow of command in the system
Modes of Decentralization
DELEGATION
Transfer of responsibilities for decision making &
administration to semi-autonomous organizations not
controlled by but accountable to the central government
(IFE in Mexico, Central Banking, Ombudsman)
Semi-autonomous public enterprises to provide services
more effectively and efficiently than a central
bureaucracy
Modes of Decentralization
DEVOLUTION
Strengths the relationship among the federal, state and
local governments
Autonomy to sub-national units of government in some
areas (e.g. fiscal and financial powers, police power,
eminent domain, etc. )
 Local governments acquire the necessary functions to
govern and not only to administer
Linkages among levels of government
FINANCIAL: Revenue-share formulas
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: Highly specialized services
are more common at the highest level (e.g. intelligence
gathering)
REGULATORY: Establishing national standards (no
child left behind, clean air and water acts, etc.)
REPRESENTATION: Party-based vs. district-based
representation
INFORMAL: Customary
 Decentralization in Bangladesh
A major problem throughout Bangladesh’s public sector has been the lack of accountability; the public sector
is characterized by a bureaucratic culture with centralized authority where corruption is widespread. The
Country has 35 ministries, 50 divisions, 221 departments, 131 directorates and autonomous bodies and 153
state owned enterprises. The process of decentralization has often been identified as the missing connection
between poverty-reduction and anti-poverty efforts in developing countries. Rural poverty in Bangladesh has
been increasing. The poverty alleviation programs implemented by each subsequent administration have
largely been centralized.
According to a paper on decentralization published by Khan (1989) the need for decentralization is now well
accepted in Bangladesh and there are many reasons as to why this is so. Khan (1989) suggests that
decentralization has been viewed as specifically appropriate to meet the needs of the poor as the process
would aid the government in bringing it closer to a local level and would make services more responsive to the
needs of the poor by developing policies and outputs that were more efficient.
A decentralized participatory approach of local government which fosters accountability openness and
transparency has been considered the ideal approach in alleviating poverty by many authors on the subject.
Blundel & Murdock (1998) suggest that decentralized services ‘closer to the customer’ require flexibility in
service delivery, decentralization could help the poor by improving access to the administrative agencies and
by encouraging greater local participation. By reducing the level of bureaucratic congestion at the center the
decentralizing process can aid in reducing disparities and increase flexibility for those in charge in decision
making.
Decision making is a form of empowerment. Empowerment is central to decentralization, as empowerment of
managers can increase motivation and increase staff output. Public sector managers lower down the chain
have a greater understanding of the environment they work in and the people they serve and interact with,
the empowering of managers and employees enable departments to respond faster to changes.
 Advantages of Decentralization
The benefits of decentralization offers organizations the most effective means of
reducing the excessive control of central government which has been a distinctive
feature of past administration in countries such as Bangladesh. Hoggett & Hamleton
(1987, p170) suggested that ‘decentralization provides an organizational structure
that allows for the development of a service that can respond to the demands of the
local community’ Managers are free to make decisions quickly and freely without the
need to refer up the hierarchy, this in turn leads to quicker result focused decisions
by public sector managers.
Minogue, Charles & Hulme (1998, p192) suggest ‘Organizational restructuring and
the delayering of hierarchies are key components of management decentralization’
Politt, Birchall & Putman (1998.p1) succinctly stated that decentralization ‘ frees
managers to manage, it makes possible speedier and more responsive public services,
attuned to local or individual needs’. The process can facilitate a better and more
efficient division of labor in the management of public services.
Walsh (1995, p203) suggests that fiscal decentralization is also crucial to successful
decentralization and argues that If local governments and private organizations are
to carry out decentralized functions effectively, they must have an adequate level of
revenues and suggests that ’ the devolution of financial control closer to the point of
delivery gives greater autonomy to service managers’ .
 Limitations of Decentralization
Decentralization can sometimes lead to problems with coordination and decision
making where authority is not centralized. Morgan (1986, p121) suggested that
decentralizing an organization into sub departments can sometimes have a negative
effect, he clarified that during the process of decentralization ‘one organization may
see itself as a tight-knit team or family that believes in working together…another
may be highly fragmented, divided into groups that think about the world different
ways or have a different aspirations as to what their organization should be. Such
patterns of belief…can exert a decisive influence on the overall ability of the
organization’.
Burns, Hamleton and Hoggett (1994, p175) suggested ‘the development of a more
pluralist pattern of public service provision does not necessarily enhance citizen
control’. The transfer of power to generate a greater degree of participation can lead
to inconsistencies in service delivery; this in turn leads to an increase in
administration costs and a failure to utilize resources efficiently. A lack of resources
both labor and technology to drive the change process can also hinder the
decentralization process, resource constraints such as a lack of skills to support
decentralized decisions and duplication of tasks through multi departmentalism can
also limit the effective implementation of a decentralization program.
Questions