scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

Participation and Accountability at the Periphery: Democratic Local Governance in Six Countries

01 Jan 2000-World Development (Pergamon)-Vol. 28, Iss: 1, pp 21-39
TL;DR: In this article, a six-country study sponsored by USAID analyzed the two topics of participation and accountability, finding that both show significant potential for promoting DLG, though there seem to be important limitations on how much participation can actually deliver, and accountability covers a much wider range of activity and larger scope for DLG strategy than initially appears.
About: This article is published in World Development.The article was published on 2000-01-01. It has received 941 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Accountability.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that institutional arrangements operating at other governance scales, such as national government agencies, international organizations, NGOs at multiple scales, and private associations, also often have critical roles to play in natural resource governance regimes, including self-organized regimes.
Abstract: This article seeks to shed new light on the study of decentralized natural resource governance by applying institutional theories of polycentricity—the relationships among multiple authorities with overlapping jurisdictions. The emphasis on multi-level dynamics has not penetrated empirical studies of environmental policy reforms in non-industrial countries. On the contrary, many of today’s decentralization proponents seem to be infatuated with the local sphere, expecting that local actors are always able and willing to govern their natural resources effectively. Existing studies in this area often focus exclusively on characteristics and performance of local institutions. While we certainly do not deny the importance of local institutions, we argue that institutional arrangements operating at other governance scales—such as national government agencies, international organizations, NGOs at multiple scales, and private associations—also often have critical roles to play in natural resource governance regimes, including self-organized regimes.

661 citations


Cites background from "Participation and Accountability at..."

  • ...Previous research has suggested that a major constraint for effective decentralized decision making is that central governments rarely give up enough power or provide sufficient support to local authorities (Adamolekun 1991; Agrawal and Ribot 1999; Bahl 1999; Bird and Vaillancourt 1999; Blair 2000; Crook and Manor 1998; Gibson 1999; de Mello 2000; Parry 1997; Prud'homme 1994; Smoke 2003)....

    [...]

  • ..., Gibson 1999; Murombedzi 2001), or to pass off a costly policy to subunits without the necessary administrative support (Adamolekun 1991; Agrawal and Ribot 1999; Bahl 1999; Bird and Vaillancourt 1999; Blair 2000; Crook and Manor 1998; Gibson 1999; de Mello 2000; Parry 1997; Prud'homme 1994)....

    [...]

  • ...Several existing studies describe how inclusive decision making in decentralized local economies increases the quality of public services (Ackerman 2004; Cohen and Rogers 1995; Fung and Wright 2001; Goldfrank 2002), improves responsive ness and accountability of local government (Blair 2000; Fiszbein 1997; Goldfrank 2002; Ribot 1999), and even enhances equitable access to services and productive assets (Hardee et al....

    [...]

01 Jan 2004

559 citations


Cites background from "Participation and Accountability at..."

  • ...Democratic decentralization is a key aspect of the participatory governance agenda, and is associated with the institutionalization of participation through regular elections, council hearings and, more recently, participatory budgeting (see, for example, Blair, 2000)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that a necessary first step in this process is for industry to reconcile its internal risk-orientation with external expectations which requires a less defensive and more constructive approach to stakeholder engagement and collaboration.

537 citations


Cites background from "Participation and Accountability at..."

  • ...Ensuring that alternative and marginalised voices have an opportunity to meaningfully participate in development decisions speaks to the principle of inclusion, which is essential to any sustainable development and poverty alleviation agenda (Blair, 2000; Craig and Porter, 2006; Grindle, 2004)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the vulnerability of a community driven poverty alleviation project in Indonesia to elite capture was examined and the expected relationships among a community's capacity for collective action, elite control over project decisions and elite capture of project benefits were not found.
Abstract: In response to the well documented limitations of top-down, modernist and authoritarian approaches that have dominated development, practitioners and academics increasingly promote more community-based approaches. The World Bank uses the term ‘community driven development’ to describe projects that increase a community's control over the development process. In an analysis of a community driven poverty alleviation project in Indonesia, this article examines the vulnerability of such an approach to elite capture. The expected relationships among a community's capacity for collective action, elite control over project decisions and elite capture of project benefits were not found. In cases where the project was controlled by elites, benefits continued to be delivered to the poor, and where power was the most evenly distributed, resource allocation to the poor was restricted. Communities where both non-elites and elites participated in democratic self-governance, however, did demonstrate an ability to redress elite capture when it occurred.

423 citations


Cites background from "Participation and Accountability at..."

  • ...1 The expanded use of community-based approaches by large-scale institutional actors has made more pressing the need to rigorously evaluate its foundational propositions and its vulnerability to elite capture (Blair, 2000; Conning and Kevane, 2002; Cooke and Kothari, 2002; Galasso and Ravallion, 2000; Mansuri and Rao, 2004; Platteau, 2004)....

    [...]

  • ...…elite capture: Abraham and Platteau (2000); Baland and Platteau (1999); Bardhan (2002); Bardhan and Mookherjee (2000, 2002); Bienen et al. (1990); Blair (2000); Conning and Kevane (2002); Crook (2003); Das Gupta et al. (2004); Ebrahim (2003); Fung and Wright (2003); Olowu (2003); Platteau…...

    [...]

  • ...…by large-scale institutional actors has made more pressing the need to rigorously evaluate its foundational propositions and its vulnerability to elite capture (Blair, 2000; Conning and Kevane, 2002; Cooke and Kothari, 2002; Galasso and Ravallion, 2000; Mansuri and Rao, 2004; Platteau, 2004)....

    [...]

  • ...Closely related to that is the view that moving the locus of decision making away from central and local government bodies to communities promotes democratization (Abers, 2000; Blair, 2000; Diamond, 1999; Kohl, 2003; Wunch, 1998)....

    [...]

References
More filters
Book
01 Jan 1993

14,679 citations

Journal ArticleDOI

9,849 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Wilson's "The Truly Disadvantaged" as mentioned in this paper was one of the sixteen best books of 1987 and won the 1988 C. Wright Mills Award of the Society for the Study of Social Problems.
Abstract: ""The Truly Disadvantaged" should spur critical thinking in many quarters about the causes and possible remedies for inner city poverty. As policy makers grapple with the problems of an enlarged underclass they--as well as community leaders and all concerned Americans of all races--would be advised to examine Mr. Wilson's incisive analysis."--Robert Greenstein, "New York Times Book Review" "'Must reading' for civil-rights leaders, leaders of advocacy organizations for the poor, and for elected officials in our major urban centers."--Bernard C. Watson, "Journal of Negro Education" "Required reading for anyone, presidential candidate or private citizen, who really wants to address the growing plight of the black urban underclass."--David J. Garrow, "Washington Post Book World" Selected by the editors of the "New York Times Book Review" as one of the sixteen best books of 1987. Winner of the 1988 C. Wright Mills Award of the Society for the Study of Social Problems.

7,278 citations

Book
01 Jan 1996

4,349 citations


"Participation and Accountability at..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Wilson (1987, 1996) in his well-known works, The Truly Disadvantaged (1987) and When Work Disap- pears: The World of the New Urban Poor (1996) argues that US social programs to help minorities and the poor succeed in the long run only if they bene®t all groups, because only then is it possible to…...

    [...]

01 Jan 1973

2,751 citations