"This book is a product of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue's Decentralization Task Force, and was first conceived at a conference held at Columbia University in New York in 2009"--Page vii.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Is decentralization good for development? : perspectives from academics and policy makers / Jean-Paul Faguet and Caroline Pöschl -- pt. I. Decentralization, stability, and the strengthening of the state. "Why I decentralized Bolivia" / Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and Jean-Paul Faguet -- Breaking the countercyclical pattern of local democracy in Pakistan / Ali Cheema, Adnan Q. Khan, and Roger B. Myerson -- Inclusive governance for inclusive development : the history, politics, and economics of Panchayat Raj / Mani Shankar Aiyar -- Is Latin America on a path to sustainable fiscal decentralization? / Matteo Grazzi and Fidel Jaramillo -- Does decentralization strengthen or weaken the state? : authority and social learning in a supple state / Jean-Paul Faguet, Ashley M. Fox, and Caroline Pöschl -- pt. II. Designing decentralization : taxes, transfers, and expenditures. A fiscal interest approach to subnational government incentives : implications for the design of tax and transfer systems / Caroline Pöschl and Barry R. Weingast -- Maintaining taxes at the centre despite decentralization : interactions with national reforms / Giorgio Brosio and Juan Pablo Jiménez -- Political capture of decentralization : vote buying through grants to local jurisdictions / Stuti Khemani -- pt. III. Decentralization and local service provision. Does yardstick competition influence local government fiscal behavior in the Philippines? / Joseph J. Capuno, Stella A. Quimbo, Aleli D. Kraft, Carlos Antonio R. Tan, Jr, and Vigile Marie B. Fabella -- Area-based competitions and awards as a motivational tool for public service provision : the experience of Xining, China / Binqin Li and Yongmei Zhang -- Empirical studies of an approach to decentralization : "decision space" in decentralized health systems / Thomas J. Bossert -- Political participation, clientelism, and targeting of local government programs : results from a rural household survey in West Bengal, India / Pranab Bardhan, Sandip Mitra, Dilip Mookherjee, and Abhirup Sarkar.