IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/pocoec/v20y2008i1p11-32.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decentralisation and development in post-socialism: local characteristics and outcomes in post-socialist Bulgaria

Author

Listed:
  • Mieke Meurs

Abstract

Over the past two decades decentralisation of government has been widely promoted by international development organisations. In former socialist economies, where governance had been extremely centralised, decentralisation seemed a way to build economic efficiency and improve public sector governance from the bottom up. This article examines the experience with decentralisation in Bulgaria at the end of its first decade. It finds that the characteristics of local governments varied greatly and evaluates the impact of varying local government characteristics on economic and social outcomes. There is some evidence that local government characteristics do have a significant impact on performance, but this is impact is outweighed by inherited, historical differences in economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Mieke Meurs, 2008. "Decentralisation and development in post-socialism: local characteristics and outcomes in post-socialist Bulgaria," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 11-32.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:pocoec:v:20:y:2008:i:1:p:11-32
    DOI: 10.1080/14631370701865706
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631370701865706
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/14631370701865706?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Angell, Alan & Lowden, Pamela & Thorp, Rosemary, 2001. "Decentralizing Development: The Political Economy of Institutional Change in Colombia and Chile," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199242313.
    2. World Bank, 2004. "Bulgaria : Issues in Intergovernmental Relations," World Bank Publications - Reports 14359, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jaime Bonet Morón & Diana Carolina Ricciulli Marín, 2020. "Historia del ordenamiento urbano de Valledupar," Tiempo y Economía, Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, vol. 7(1), pages 125-152, January.
    2. Eduardo Lora, 2007. "The State of State Reform in Latin America," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6642.
      • Galindo, Arturo & Scartascini, Carlos & Payne, J. Mark & Daughters, Robert & Melo, Alberto & Echebarría, Koldo & Lora, Eduardo & Filc, Gabriel & Micco, Alejandro & Chong, Alberto E. & Panizza, Ugo & B, 2007. "The State of State Reform in Latin America," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 352, November.
    3. Rosemary Thorp and Graciela Zevallos, "undated". "The Economic Policies Of The Fujimori Years: A Return To The Past?," QEH Working Papers qehwps83, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    4. repec:gig:joupla:v:3:y:2011:i:1:p:65-98 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Gershberg, Alec Ian & González, Pablo Alberto & Meade, Ben, 2012. "Understanding and Improving Accountability in Education: A Conceptual Framework and Guideposts from Three Decentralization Reform Experiences in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 1024-1041.
    6. Eslava Luis, 2009. "Decentralization of Development and Nation-Building Today: Reconstructing Colombia from the Margins of Bogotá," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 283-366, December.
    7. repec:idb:brikps:352 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Roy, Indrajit, 2008. "Civil Society and Good Governance: (Re-) Conceptualizing the Interface," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 677-705, April.
    9. Herrera, Veronica, 2014. "Does Commercialization Undermine the Benefits of Decentralization for Local Services Provision? Evidence from Mexico’s Urban Water and Sanitation Sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 16-31.
    10. Mario Chacon, 2017. "In the Line of Fire: Political Violence and Decentralization in Colombia," Working Papers 20170007, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Oct 2017.
    11. Andrew Nickson, 2023. "Decentralization in Latin America After 40 Years: Work in Progress; A Commentary Essay," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1017-1034, September.
    12. Lara, Carlos Icaza & Pezzini, Mario & Villarreal, Roberto & Garcilazo, Enrique & Davies, Andrew, 2009. "Institutional Reform:Improving the Effectiveness of Policy Delivery," MPRA Paper 16567, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Arturo Galindo & Carlos Scartascini & J. Mark Payne & Robert Daughters & Alberto Melo & Koldo Echebarría & Eduardo Lora & Gabriel Filc & Alejandro Micco & Alberto E. Chong & Ugo Panizza & Juan Benavid, 2007. "The State of State Reform in Latin America," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 59578 edited by Eduardo Lora, February.
    14. Andrea Franco & Arlen Guarín & Carlos Medina & Christian M. Posso, 2017. "Políticas de País y Logros de Regiones: el Caso de la Calidad de la Educación Secundaria en Colombia," Borradores de Economia 981, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    15. Rosemary Thorp, 2017. "The political economy of managing extractives: insights from the Peruvian case," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 185-203, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:pocoec:v:20:y:2008:i:1:p:11-32. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CPCE20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.