Decentralization reforms in Colombia aimed to increase local responsiveness but produced mixed results. This study analyzes survey data from citizens across the country to assess perceptions of department-level government accountability following administrative and fiscal decentralization efforts.
📊 Data & Methods: Individual-level surveys conducted throughout Colombia, controlling for factors including citizen participation levels, political knowledge, confidence in government institutions, education attainment, and income level.
🔍 Key Findings: Administrative decentralization (delegating authority) improved accountability perceptions. Fiscal decentralization (transferring funds) also increased these views. However, political decentralization reforms failed to enhance citizens' sense of departmental government accountability.
📝 Implications: These findings suggest that while certain forms of decentralization may improve governance at lower levels, simply adding elected officials doesn't guarantee better responsiveness or perception among citizens.
| Does Decentralization Improve Perceptions of Accountability? Attitudinal Evidence from Colombia was authored by Maria Escobar-Lemmon and Ashley D. Ross. It was published by Wiley in AJPS in 2014. |
