- Anwar Shah (Ph.D. economics) is Senior Fellow (Non-resident), Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, USA and former ... moreAnwar Shah (Ph.D. economics) is Senior Fellow (Non-resident), Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, USA and former Director of the Centre for Public Economics, SWUFE, Chengdu/Wenjiang, China He has previously served the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Canadian Ministry of Finance, the Government of Alberta Urban Advisory Group and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. As the Director of the Governance Program at the World Bank, he organized training programs and high level policy retreats and seminars worldwide for senior government officials and policy makers on multi-order governance reform issues. At the Canadian Ministry of Finance, he was responsible for federal fiscal transfers to provinces for health, education and equalization. With the Government of Alberta, he was responsible for local government fiscal oversight, municipal incorporation, and provincial fiscal transfers to local governments. As a member of the advisory group for the UN Second Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he put forward proposals on eliminating energy subsidies and introducing carbon taxes to advance tax reform, preserve local environment and mitigate global climate change. He has published more than two dozen books and numerous articles in leading journals. His authored books include Fiscal Federalism (with Robin Boadway), by the Cambridge University Press, and Local Public Finance and Economics (with Harry Kitchen and Melville McMillan)edit
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Globalisation and the information revolution are profoundly influencing the division of power within, across, and beyond nation-states. Within nations, this mega change has led to a diminished economic relevance of the intermediate order... more
Globalisation and the information revolution are profoundly influencing the division of power within, across, and beyond nation-states. Within nations, this mega change has led to a diminished economic relevance of the intermediate order of government (states and provinces) and an enhanced need for home rule (empowered local governments) in both unitary and federal countries. Considerations of peace, order, and good government further warrant that intermediate orders of governments must assume a relatively less prominent role in multi-order governance. The recent fiscal crisis and the ever-growing concern about corruption have further heightened the need to the get the government right, thereby creating additional pressures to limit the size of the government by possibly downsizing the role of the states/provinces and reconstituting these as provincial councils of local governments to perform inter-local functions and coordination. These economic imperatives, calling for an hourglas...
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This paper conceptualizes governance and provides a framework for assessing governance quality in comparative perspective based upon governance outcomes. It surveys the composite indexes on quality of governance and provides an in depth... more
This paper conceptualizes governance and provides a framework for assessing governance quality in comparative perspective based upon governance outcomes. It surveys the composite indexes on quality of governance and provides an in depth review of the widely used Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGIs). This review concludes that WGIs use state of the art aggregation techniques but fail on most fundamental considerations. They lack a conceptual framework of governance and use flawed and biased primary indicators that mostly capture Western business perspectives on governance processes using one-size-fits-all norms about such processes. They almost completely neglect citizens' evaluations of governance outcomes reflecting any impacts on the quality of life. These primary deficiencies and changing weights, respondents and criteria lead us to conclude that the use of such indicators in cross-country and time series comparisons could not be justified. Such use is already complicating ...
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Abstract. We attempt to improve the understanding and measurement of decentralization and its relationship with corruption in a worldwide context. This is done by presenting the conceptual underpinnings of such a relationship as well as... more
Abstract. We attempt to improve the understanding and measurement of decentralization and its relationship with corruption in a worldwide context. This is done by presenting the conceptual underpinnings of such a relationship as well as using more defensible measures of both decentralization in its various dimensions as well as corruption for a sample of 158 countries. It is the first paper that treats various tiers of local governments (below the intermediate order of government) as the unit of comparative analysis. By pursuing rigorous econometric analysis we demonstrate that decentralization, when properly measured to mean moving government closer to people by empowering local governments, is shown to have a significant negative effect on the incidence of corruption regardless of the choice of the estimation procedures or the measures of corruption used. In terms of various dimensions of decentralized local governance, political decentralization matters even when we control for fiscal decentralization. Further voice (political accountability) is empirically shown to be more important in combating corruption than exit options made available though competition among jurisdictions.
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theoretical and empirical and Development literature on the economics of research and development
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Research Interests: Economics, Development Economics, Economic Theory, Impact Evaluation, Regional Inequality, and 11 moreSri Lanka, Economic policy, Regional development, Vietnam, Income inequality, Social Science Research Network, United States, Comparative Advantage, Russian Federation, Regional disparities, and Political Risk
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Research Interests: Business, Health Economics, Corporate Governance, Economic Growth, Economic Theory, and 13 moreHuman Development, Financial management, Public sector, Decentralization, Good Governance, Social Development, Citizen participation, Public Service, Central Bank, Fiscal Decentralization, Indexation, The World Bank, and Distribution of Income
exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly.... more
exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely
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is the record of policies aimed at reducing income Divide within Nations disparities among regions within countries? Paradoxically, creating a level A Scorecard on the Performance of playing field helps
This paper focuses on the role of local governments in bringing about fair, accountable, incoorruptible and responsive (FAIR) governance. Local governments around the world have done important innovations to earn the trust of their... more
This paper focuses on the role of local governments in bringing about fair, accountable, incoorruptible and responsive (FAIR) governance. Local governments around the world have done important innovations to earn the trust of their residents and their comparative performance is of great interest yet a comprehensive framework to provide such benchmarking is not available. This paper attempts to fill this void, by developing a general framework for performance accountability of local governments and by relating real world practices to aspects of this framework. The proposed rating framework requires several types of assessments: (a) their compliance with due process and law; (b) monitoring of fiscal health for sustainability; (c) monitoring of service delivery ; and (d) citizens' satisfaction with local services. The approach yields key indicators useful for benchmarking performance that can be used in selfevaluation and improvement of performance. t From an analysis of practices ...
Research Interests: Theory and Performance
The almost unanimous passage of a landmark consensus constitutional amendment—the 18th Constitutional Amendment—restored Pakistan’s constitution to its original intent of a decentralized federation of four provinces as envisaged in the... more
The almost unanimous passage of a landmark consensus constitutional amendment—the 18th Constitutional Amendment—restored Pakistan’s constitution to its original intent of a decentralized federation of four provinces as envisaged in the 1956 and 1973 constitutions. This amendment was hailed by policy makers and academics alike as a major step forward in reforming the multi-order governance in Pakistan. This paper takes a closer look at the provisions of this amendment and highlights both the potentials and pitfalls of the new constitutional order for good governance in Pakistan. The paper concludes that the amendment must be seen as a first yet small and incomplete step in reforming multi-order governance in Pakistan. A large unfinished reform agenda remains to be charted. The Policy Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the ...
Research Interests: Business, Human Rights, Accounting, Human Resource Management, Fiscal Federalism, and 15 moreHuman Resource, Decentralization, Dictatorship, Corruption, Bureaucracy, Consensus, Comparative Analysis, Authority, Laws, Due process, Centralization, Division of Powers, Assets, Differentials, and Central Government
Education is one of the most important services provided by public governments in almost every country worldwide. However, the most important cross-country observations about education ? like the PISA report by the OECD or the TIMSS by... more
Education is one of the most important services provided by public governments in almost every country worldwide. However, the most important cross-country observations about education ? like the PISA report by the OECD or the TIMSS by the IEA ? focus only on international benchmarks to compare the knowledge capacity of pupils. This paper provides a general overview of the different forms to finance education in the framework of intergovernmental transfers as well as educational providers in ten European countries. We observe the educational system in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and point out the similarities and national distinctions in the respective transfer system regarding education financing or the allocation mechanism for primary and secondary schools as well as universities.
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Suggested Citation: Shah, Anwar; Thompson, Theresa; Zou, Heng-fu (2004) : Decentralising the public sector: The Impact of Decentralisation on Service Delivery, Corruption, Fiscal Management and Growth in Developing and Emerging Market... more
Suggested Citation: Shah, Anwar; Thompson, Theresa; Zou, Heng-fu (2004) : Decentralising the public sector: The Impact of Decentralisation on Service Delivery, Corruption, Fiscal Management and Growth in Developing and Emerging Market Economies: A Synthesis of Empirical Evidence, CESifo DICE Report, ISSN 1613-6373, ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München, München, Vol. 02, Iss. 1, pp. 10-14
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Education is one of the most important services provided by public governments in almost every country worldwide. However, the most important cross-country observations about education ? like the PISA report by the OECD or the TIMSS by... more
Education is one of the most important services provided by public governments in almost every country worldwide. However, the most important cross-country observations about education ? like the PISA report by the OECD or the TIMSS by the IEA ? focus only on international benchmarks to compare the knowledge capacity of pupils. This paper provides a general overview of the different forms to finance education in the framework of intergovernmental transfers as well as educational providers in ten European countries. We observe the educational system in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and point out the similarities and national distinctions in the respective transfer system regarding education financing or the allocation mechanism for primary and secondary schools as well as universities.
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This paper focuses on the role of local governments in bringing about fair, accountable, incoorruptible and responsive (FAIR) governance. Local governments around the world have done important innovations to earn the trust of their... more
This paper focuses on the role of local governments in bringing about fair, accountable, incoorruptible and responsive (FAIR) governance. Local governments around the world have done important innovations to earn the trust of their residents and their comparative performance is of great interest yet a comprehensive framework to provide such benchmarking is not available. This paper attempts to fill this void, by developing a general framework for performance accountability of local governments and by relating real world practices to aspects of this framework. The proposed rating framework requires several types of assessments: (a) their compliance with due process and law; (b) monitoring of fiscal health for sustainability; (c) monitoring of service delivery ; and (d) citizens’ satisfaction with local services. The approach yields key indicators useful for benchmarking performance that can be used in selfevaluation and improvement of performance. t From an analysis of practices in l...
Research Interests: Theory and Performance
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This paper attempts to improve the understanding and measurement of decentralization and its relationship with corruption in a worldwide context. This is done by presenting the conceptual underpinnings of such relationship as well as... more
This paper attempts to improve the understanding and measurement of decentralization and its relationship with corruption in a worldwide context. This is done by presenting the conceptual underpinnings of such relationship as well as using superior and more defensible ...
In spite of several decades of sustained growth, Pakistan remains in the company of "failed" states on account of its quality of governance. This paper presents an institutional framework for improving the quality of governance... more
In spite of several decades of sustained growth, Pakistan remains in the company of "failed" states on account of its quality of governance. This paper presents an institutional framework for improving the quality of governance in Pakistan. This framework suggests that a major challenge facing the public sector in Pakistan is to harmonise its authorising environment and operational capacity with its mission and values. It provides a broad outline of how such a difficult task can be accomplished. The paper provides an analysis of the fiscal federalism dimensions of the authorising environment and presents directions for reform. The paper recognises various political, bureaucratic and institutional impediments that stand in the way of such reform. Finally, the paper distils lessons on institutional reform of relevance to Pakistan and other non-industrialised countries. .
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The almost unanimous passage of a landmark consensus constitutional amendment—the 18th Constitutional Amendment—restored Pakistan’s constitution to its original intent of a decentralized federation of provinces as envisaged in the 1956... more
The almost unanimous passage of a landmark consensus constitutional amendment—the 18th Constitutional Amendment—restored Pakistan’s constitution to its original intent of a decentralized federation of provinces as envisaged in the 1956 (two provinces) and 1973 (four provinces) constitutions. This article takes a closer look at the provisions of this amendment and highlights both the potentials and pitfalls of the new constitutional order for good governance in Pakistan. It argues that the amendment represents a step forward but encompasses several missteps in creating a harmonious political and economic union. The 18th Amendment has reinforced an outmoded “pot-belly” model (federalism of provinces) whereas an “hourglass” (federalism of local governments) model is more suited to Pakistan‘s circumstances. Major fundamental reforms are needed that right-size the federal and provincial governments, strengthen local governance, enforce fiscal discipline and citizen-based accountability f...
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This paper addresses three complementary themes in bringing about responsive and accountable public governance in developing countries—namely globalisation, localisation and a results oriented management and evaluation (ROME). The first... more
This paper addresses three complementary themes in bringing about responsive and accountable public governance in developing countries—namely globalisation, localisation and a results oriented management and evaluation (ROME). The first theme recognises interdependencies in an interconnected world and discusses how these influences would shape partnership within and across nations. The second theme is concerned with public sector realignments within nations to meet the challenges associated with heightened expectations from an informed citizenry. The third theme relates to creating a new culture of public governance that is responsive and accountable to citizens. The paper argues that a road to ROME holds significant promise of overcoming the ills of a dysfunctional, command and control, overbearing and rent seeking public sector in many developing countries. ROME de-emphasises traditional input controls and instead is concerned with creating an authorising environment in which the ...
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Research Interests: Higher Education, Health Care, Human Development, Fiscal Federalism, Education Policy, and 15 moreAccreditation, Autonomy, Decentralization, Equalization, Dissertations, Developing Country, Absenteeism, Academic achievement, Data Collection, Ethnic Groups, Chip, Information Flows, Audits, Capital Market, and Fungibility
Research Interests: Accounting, Economic Growth, Capital Markets, Developing Countries, Economic Development, and 15 moreDecentralization, Electricity, Complex System, Equalization, Consensus, Finances, Authority, Coefficient of Variation, Capital Expenditures, Central Planning, Division of Powers, Assets, Budget Constraints, Differentials, and Central Government
... and two French ministers of health to showcase visits of HDB while they were in Lebanon (Intreview with Marwan Hamadé, former ... ophthalmologist), Ramez Awad (an orthopedic surgeon and Dean of the Lebanese University Medical School... more
... and two French ministers of health to showcase visits of HDB while they were in Lebanon (Intreview with Marwan Hamadé, former ... ophthalmologist), Ramez Awad (an orthopedic surgeon and Dean of the Lebanese University Medical School at the time), Bechara Hatem (current ...