TY - BOOK AU - Burki, Shahid Javed AU - Perry, Guillermo E AU - Dillinger, William R, 1951 AU - Burki, Shahid Javed AU - Perry, Guillermo E AU - Dillinger, William R, 1951 ED - Banco Mundial TI - Beyond the center : : decentralizing the State T2 - World Bank Latin American and Caribbean studies. Viewpoints SN - 0-8213-4521-4 U1 - 352.283098 PY - 1999/// CY - Washington, D.C. PB - World Bank KW - DESCENTRALIZACION POLITICO ADMINISTRATIVA KW - AMERICA LATINA KW - RELACIONES FISCALES INTERGUBERNAMENTALES N1 - Copias: 47837-38; Incluye bibliografía; Acknowledgments -- Acronyms and abbreviations -- 1. Decentralization: politics in command -- 2. Getting the rules right: a framework for subnational government -- 3. Addressing the macroeconomic threat: the quest for hard budget constraints -- 4. Empowering municipalities or schools? the decentralization of education -- 5. Empowering mayors, hospital directors, or patients? The decentralization of health care -- 6. Decentralizing roads: matching accountability, resources, and technical expertise -- References N2 - The study focuses on decentralization, referring to the process of returning the political, fiscal, and administrative powers, to sub-national units of government. It examines the decentralization transformation of government structures in Latin America, which, since 1983, has largely transferred power, resources, and, responsibilities, to the local level. Eight cases are reviewed, within a framework for sub-national government, revising the functions, structures, and revenues assigned, and, the strategies to synchronize the elements of reform. The macroeconomic threat is addressed through hard budget constraints, analyzing the outcomes of major decentralized states in Latin America, as well as the subtle risk, that empowered local governments may use their political power to undermine national interests, in benefit of individual constituencies. Furthermore, the accountability of authority is examined, revising what is at stake with the decentralization of education, health care, and, infrastructure, under new municipal powers. It is further suggested, that successful decentralization is dependent on consistent political culture, thus, broad sets of rules affecting political behavior are analyzed, particularly on electoral systems and political parties ER -