Democracy and Decentralisation in South Asia and West Africa

This book is an important contribution to debates about 'good governance', examining the benefits of decentralisation in developing countries.

This book examines whether setting up democratic local councils in four developing countries (Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Bangladesh and India) enhances the popularity, responsiveness and effectiveness of administration. The authors make an important contribution to current debates about 'good governance', asking whether the poor and disadvantaged benefit from decentralisation.This book is an in-depth empirical study of four Asian and African attempts to create democratic, decentralised local governments in the late 1980s and 1990s. The case studies of Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Karnataka (India) and Bangladesh focus upon the enhancement of participation; accountability between people, politicians and bureaucrats; and, most importantly, on whether governmental performance actually improved in comparison with previous forms of administration. The book is systematically comparative, and based upon extensive popular surveys and local field work. It makes an important contribution to current debates in the development literature on whether 'good governance' and decentralisation can provide more responsive and effective services for the mass of the population - the poor and disadvantaged who live in the rural areas.