Guest editorial

摘要

Globally, local authorities are significant players in the provision of public services, and increasingly there has been a strong impetus to improve local service delivery (Kopric et aL, 2017; Dollery et aL, 2008; United Cities and Local Governments, 2008) and citizen satisfaction with public services (Van de Walle, 2018). In recent decades decentralization, usually with the support of international organizations, has become an important reform strategy in many countries. Traditional arguments in favor of such reforms suggest that efficiency and quality gains in the provision of public services are achieved through decentralization along with greater expectations of accountability and responsiveness. But is local really always better? Some scholars warn that there are significant dangers involved in decentralization. For example, local administrations might be understaffed, or financially weak, or they could be captured by local political elites, which could all potentially lead to poorer public service provision.