Bulletin n. 2/2016 | ||
December 2016 | ||
Kuhlmann Sabine, Wayenberg Ellen |
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Institutional impact assessment in multi-level systems: conceptualizing decentralization effects from a comparative perspective | ||
in International Review of Administrative Sciences , Volume 82, Issue 2 , 2016 | ||
Comparative literature on institutional reforms in multi-level systems proceeds from a global trend towards the decentralization of state functions. However, there is only scarce knowledge about the impact that decentralization has had, in particular, upon the sub-central governments involved. How does it affect regional and local governments? Do these reforms also have unintended outcomes on the sub-central level and how can this be explained? This article aims to develop a conceptual framework to assess the impacts of decentralization on the sub-central level from a comparative and policy-oriented perspective. This framework is intended to outline the major patterns and models of decentralization and the theoretical assumptions regarding de-/re-centralization impacts, as well as pertinent cross-country approaches meant to evaluate and compare institutional reforms. It will also serve as an analytical guideline and a structural basis for all the country-related articles in this Special Issue. | ||