Decentralization used to be a top-down process with the state "granting" some more local autonomy. Today decentralization drives in most developed countries also go bottom-up. This is happening because large areas of domestic policy making in these countries have become intergovernmental in nature. In the process, the cities & agglomerations have acquired increased bargaining power, the higher levels of government depending on them as implementers of their legislation & programs. The local authorities have also stepped up their endogenous problem solving & "community governance" capacity by mustering local support, building partnerships, & modernizing their bureaucracies. As a result, a readjusted central-local balance based on a philosophy of "cooperative dualism" seems to be evolving. However, consistent legislative support & a proactive strategy of the local authorities taking due account of the basic interests of the state are needed to fully exploit the modernization potential of the new central-local balance. 27 References. Adapted from the source document.
Decentralisation used to be a top–down process with the state "granting" some more local autonomy. Today decentralisation drives in most developed countries also go bottom–up. This is happening because large areas of domestic policy–making in these countries have become intergovernmental in nature. In the process the cities and agglomerations have acquired increased bargaining power, the higher levels of government depending on them as implementers of their legislation and programmes. The local authorities have also stepped up their endogenous problem solving and "community governance" capacity by mustering local support, building partnerships and modernising their bureaucracies. As a result a readjusted central–local balance based on a philosophy of "cooperative dualism" seems to be evolving. However, consistent legislative support and a proactive strategy of the local authorities taking due account of the basic interests of the state are needed to fully exploit the modernisation potential of the new central–local balance.
AbstractA by-law as a product of local government is valuable as a legal instrument in implementing the duty to regulate and to administer local affairs. Contemporary, the regulation regarding supervision on by-law points a dynamic and controversial respond. The indication has appeared since the competence of the central government to nullify by-law is repealed through the Constitutional Court Verdict. Government reaction on this Verdict indicates a disharmony, due to some ventures to control local government forwards to tight, for which several other legal instruments are issued. This study aims to find a developed notion of supervision on a by-law to enhance the purpose of devolution. In doing so, a lesson learned from New Zealand will be taken into account following the gap found in the legal position of Indonesia. The research finding shows that a trend of regulation on supervision in New Zealand reflects a transitional relationship between central government from hierarchical to a partnership, through empowerment. In contrast, the legal position in Indonesia addresses to a discouragement or distrust mindset. For this reason, the what can fulfil the gap as a lesson learned from New Zealand is by emerging a unique consultative process to the public both in by-law making, repealing, amending, and or reviewing.Keywords: comparative; local government; supervisionAbstrakAnggaran rumah tangga sebagai produk pemerintah daerah berharga sebagai instrumen hukum dalam melaksanakan tugas untuk mengatur dan mengelola urusan lokal. Kontemporer, peraturan tentang pengawasan oleh-hukum menunjukkan respons yang dinamis dan kontroversial. Indikasi ini muncul sejak kompetensi pemerintah pusat untuk membatalkan anggaran rumah tangga dicabut melalui Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi. Reaksi pemerintah atas Putusan ini menunjukkan ketidakharmonisan, karena beberapa usaha untuk mengen-dalikan pemerintah daerah ke depan dengan ketat, yang mana beberapa instrumen hukum lainnya dikeluarkan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menemukan gagasan yang dikembangkan tentang pengawasan terhadap anggaran rumah tangga untuk meningkatkan tujuan devolusi. Dengan melakukan hal tersebut, pelajaran yang dipetik dari Selandia Baru akan diperhitungkan menyusul kesenjangan yang ditemukan dalam posisi hukum Indonesia. Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tren regulasi tentang pengawasan di Selandia Baru mencerminkan hubungan transisi antara pemerintah pusat dari hirarki ke kemitraan, melalui pemberdayaan. Sebaliknya, posisi hukum di Indonesia mengarah pada keputusasaan atau pola pikir ketidakpercayaan. Untuk alasan ini, apa yang dapat memenuhi kesenjangan sebagai pelajaran yang dipetik dari Selandia Baru adalah dengan memunculkan proses konsultatif yang unik kepada publik baik dalam pembuatan by-law, pencabutan, amandemen, dan atau peninjauan.Kata kunci: komparatif; pemerintah lokal; pengawasan
In the last three decades, China has experienced dual decentralization in transforming its economy, resulting in decentralization and deconcentration in public administration and social service delivery. Under the policy framework of decentralization, particularly when welfare financing has been decentralized to local governments, the emergence of welfare regionalism is evident in China. This paper sets out against this policy context to examine how three local governments in eastern coastal areas in China handle changing labour welfare needs by institutionalizing social and labour protection measures to meet the local needs instead of implementing central policy. With particular reference to examine why regional variations exist in welfare provision even though the socio-economic development status is similar in these areas, this paper shows how different forms of capitals, government's governance style and diversity of industries have affected welfare arrangements for labour in China.
This article analyses the effects of government ownership on city commercial banks' lending behaviour in China from the central-local relationship perspective. The case study of Changsha Bank uses an institutional economic framework to analyse, in particular, the credit appetite of city commercial banks under the current institutional design of China's political and economic system. The central government relies on local governments to develop the local economy. Local governments bargain with the central government by relying heavily on city commercial banks as the local financing platform to serve their own political interests. Therefore, dual dependence exists between the central government and local governments, and is also prevalent between local governments and city commercial banks. This study illustrates the fundamental problems that exist within the post-transformation Chinese financial system design and provides guidance for further market-oriented transformation in China's "new normal" economy. (China/GIGA)
Local government presupposes the existence of central authority to which is subordinate despite the relative autonomy of its organs. Three views paint the nature of relationships between central-local governments in Tanzania. The first view conceives local governments as instruments of the centre whose mandate is implementing public policies. Second, local governments are seen as partners of the centre, implementing public policies in a coherent manner with some levels of discretion. Third, central and local governments are certainly different governments which have mutual dependence. This article offers an overview on the dynamics of central-local relationship to uncover expectation of establishing self-governing authorities at the local levels as stipulated in the Local Government Reform and the D-by-D policy or the Policy Paper on Local Government Reforms. In addition, it highlights unwillingness of the centre to give autonomy to local authorities. Using document analysis, our analysis shows that local authorities have been agents of the central government, primarily responsive to their political master, not partners in national administration and development. These unhealthy arrangements limit local government capacity to serve their clients accordingly. Thus, considering autonomous local authorities as a vehicle to national development is essential for healthy decentralisation of central-local relations.
This book examines the connection between central-local government relations and the transition of contemporary China, the urbanization process and social development. Based on empirical investigations and theoretical research, it argues that this is the key to understanding the transition of central-local government relations from the overall fiscal rationing system in the 1980s and the tax distribution system in the 1990s. The former system provided the incentive for local government to "set up a number of enterprises" and resulted in rapid local industrialization, while the latter system enabled the local governments to move from "operating the enterprises" to "operating the land and cities". The book analyzes two aspects of the profound impact of the change in central-local government relations on the behavior of local governments: land quota acquisition and urbanization, thus providing valuable insights into the economic and social development of contemporary China
