Fiscal Decentralization, Development, and Governance

稳定、运转良好的经济体有可能使各国更好地满足其公民的需求。它们还创造了一个环境，使美国等邻国能够发展和繁荣。经济稳定和业绩的驱动力之一被认为是善政，特别是重大的财政权力下放。但是，关于权力下放对经济发展和减少腐败的影响的跨国分析得出了相互矛盾的结论。其结果是，对什么能促进善政，从而促进经济稳定和发展的理论和实践理解都滞后了。该奖项支持的研究通过对最近财政权力下放案例的影响进行深入的地方比较和人种学调查来解决这一政策挑战。这项研究之所以重要，是因为如果能够通过对一个单一案例的深入研究确定权力下放与善政之间的联系，就可以将研究结果加以推广，从而在全球范围内提高理论认识和政策。这项研究将由人类学家Jean Ensminger博士（加州理工学院）进行。研究人员认为肯尼亚是这项研究的一个很好的地点，因为该国最近实施了一个强有力的权力下放版本。新的政府结构将全国划分为47个县，每个县都有一名州长，他控制着大量的财政资源。将权力下放与民主国家更好的经济表现联系起来的理论基于两个未经证实的假设：公民将更好地获得信息，以便他们能够监督领导人的表现，以及公民将业绩置于种族偏袒和庇护等其他因素之上。本研究验证了这些假设和理论预测。由于对这一问题的定量研究结果不一致，研究者将采取定性和归纳的方法。研究人员将采用定性和定量相结合的方法收集数据，包括：与省长，特别是民间社会领导人确定为改革派的省长进行访谈;与选民和县级政府官员进行访谈;分析县级纵向记录、投票记录和公开的民意调查数据;分析反腐败和审计机构的报告。研究结果应有助于政策制定者了解一个强有力的财政分权模式是否能为更有效的政策提供一条前进的道路。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Stable, well-functioning economies have the potential to allow nations to better serve the needs of their citizens. They also create an environment in which neighboring countries, such as the United States, can grow and prosper. One of the driving forces behind economic stability and performance is thought to be good governance, particularly significant fiscal decentralization. But cross-country analyses of the effects of decentralization on economic development and corruption reduction have produced contradictory findings. The result is that both theoretical and practical understanding of what promotes good governance and, thereby, economic stability and development, has lagged. The research supported by this award addresses this policy challenge through an in-depth, locally comparative, ethnographic investigation of the effects of a case of recent fiscal decentralization. The research is important because if the links between decentralization and good governance can be identified through an intensive study of a single case, findings can then be generalized to improve theoretical understanding and policy globally. The research will be conducted by anthropologist Dr. Jean Ensminger (California Institute of Technology). The researcher has identified Kenya as an excellent site for this study because the country has recently implemented a strong version of decentralization. The new governmental structure divides the nation into 47 counties each with a governor who controls significant fiscal resources. Theory that links decentralization to better economic performance in democratic countries rests on two unproven assumptions: that citizens will have improved access to information so that they can monitor the performance of their leaders, and that citizens value performance above other factors such as ethnic favoritism and patronage. This research tests these assumptions and theoretical predictions. Because of the inconsistent findings of quantitative studies of this problem, the researcher will take a largely qualitative and inductive approach. The researcher will collect data with a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, including: interviews with governors, particularly those identified by civil society leaders as reformist; interviews with constituents and county-level government officials; analyses of longitudinal county-level records, voting records, and publicly available polling data; and analyses of reports of anti-corruption and audit bodies. Findings from the research should help policy makers understand whether a strong model of fiscal decentralization can offer a path forward for more effective policy. Results will also support better theoretical understanding of what promotes good governance and well-functioning economic systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.