East Asia Decentralizes

This report states that the future of East Asian countries depends on the capacity and performance of local and provincial governments. Decentralization has unleashed local initiative and energy, with new ways to deliver services to people, with potential for continued improvement. The report, which focuses on six countries, notes the differences in the approach to decentralizing government in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam

"Takes a close look at people's involvement in the new framework of state decentralization. By focusing on the potential as well as the limitations of citizens managing local budgets, the goal is to improve the process of democratization of the state and society. The contributors explore the achievements of the process of decentralization, which is the backdrop for the emerging process of citizen participation in public decisionmaking at the local government level. The volume approaches this issue from a general perspective and up close through case studies. The broad perspective generates a framework for analytical understanding of fiscal decentralization and participation. The case studies highlight local experiences in East Asia - Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines - and Latin America - Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Each case illustrates a particular leadership style and type of participation. Important similarities emerge in the areas of trust, political will, unity among actors, intergovernmental coordination, capacity of government and citizen organizations to generate participatory public policies, and redistribution of power and responsibility between the state and civil society."--Publisher's web site.

World Bank Discussion Paper No. 286. This report was commissioned as part of a project on the effectiveness of credit policies in East Asian countries. In the Republic of Korea, the government has played a pervasive role in promoting industrialization and economic development. The report documents the use of directed credit programs and highlights what made government intervention effective: its close consultation with industry, the existence of a competitive business environment, and a strong monitoring and evaluation system. The report notes the risk-sharing arrangements developed by Korean policymakers and the flexible adaptation of directed credit programs to the changing needs of the Korean economy. The authors also emphasize the long-term costs of reliance on directed credit programs and the measures taken in recent years to redirect the programs' objectives and redress the imbalances that have arisen along Korea's path to economic development.

An increasing number of developing countries are introducing School-Based Management (SBM) reforms aimed at empowering principals and teachers or at strengthening their professional motivation, thereby enhancing their sense of ownership of the school. Many of these reforms have also strengthened parental involvement in the schools, sometimes by means of school councils. SBM programs take many different forms in terms of who has the power to make decisions as well as the degree of ecision-making devolved to the school level. While some programs transfer authority only to school principals or te.

This book explores the important topic of fiscal decentralization in Asian countries, and focuses on how government finance and administration are being reformed to bring budgetary decisions closer to voters. The focus on Asia is especially important because all countries in this region have been undergoing serious fiscal reforms in the past decade. They include one of the biggest decentralization reforms in Indonesia, significant reforms in democratic Philippines and Vietnam which are in transition, and Japan, whose fiscal reconstruction program is covered extensively. India and China, which are also covered, are very special cases because of their size and because their policies must fit decentralization into a significant economic growth scenario.