Decentralization and Governance Capacity

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Evrim Tan

   Pages 1-19

3. Decentralization and Capacity in Public Governance

   • Evrim Tan

   Pages 21-78

4. Turkey’s Local Government Reform Process

   • Evrim Tan

   Pages 79-125

5. Local Governance Capacities in Turkey

   • Evrim Tan

   Pages 127-157

6. What Is the Relationship Between Governance Capacity and Decentralization?

   • Evrim Tan

   Pages 159-191

7. Conclusion: Toward an Asymmetrical Decentralization Design

   • Evrim Tan

   Pages 193-228

8. Back Matter

   Pages 229-269

   PDF

It is widely assumed that the relationship between governance capacity and decentralization determines the success in governance, but how does this relationship function is largely contested. Does decentralization lead to an improvement in governance capacities, or are certain capacities preconditioned in order for decentralization to lead better governance? Relying on an empirical study of Turkish provincial municipalities, the book argues success in decentralization is strongly influenced by the socioeconomic conditions in the province and to a lesser extent by the local government’s capacity. The book provides a novel approach to capacity building practices and decentralization reforms by suggesting that the relationship between decentralization and governance capacity should be addressed not only on the organizational but also on the developmental level. In this way, the book proposes asymmetrical decentralization according to socio-economic development at subnational level for better governance outcomes.

• decentralization
• governance
• capacity
• public governance
• Turkish public administration
• public management reform
• local governance
• financial
• material
• managerial
• planning
• communication
• human resource capacities
• regression analysis
• comparative case in Turkish local government
• Asymmetric decentralization
• socio-economic development
• predictability and success of decentralization policies

“The author unpacks the important relationship among socio-economic development, local capacity, and better governance in the case of Turkiye. … the effort to put these complex and overlapping themes into an appropriate order should be appreciated. This study provides a reliable reference for academics in the field. In addition to its academic value, Decentralization and Governance Capacity provides a useful reference for policymakers and bureaucrats interested in this subject.” (Çiğdem Görgün Akgül, Insight Turkey, Vol. 24 (2), 2022)

• University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

  Evrim Tan

Evrim Tan is a visiting professor in the Public Governance Institute at the University of Leuven, Belgium. His research concentrates on decentralization, local government, capacity building and public management reforms.

Policies and ethics