Public Policy
Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations and Transparent Local Government Management
Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations and Transparent Local Government Management
with distance learning module starting in February
18 July - 29 July, 2011
Co-sponsored by the Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative of the Open Society Institute, Budapest
"The course was useful thanks to the numerous on-the-ground examples provided by various lecturers and participants, which allowed me to expand my knowledge of the practical challenges faced when constructing and developing decentralized systems. The case studies were useful for similar purposes."
(Course participant 2010)
>>> Read more <<<
(Course participant 2010)
>>> Read more <<<
| Course Director: |
Jozsef Hegedus, Metropolitan Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary Adrian Ionescu, Joint Integrated Local Development Programme, UNDP, Moldova |
| Faculty: |
Peter Balazs, CEU, Center for EU Enlargement Studies, Budapest, Hungary Kenneth Davey, University of Birmingham, International Development, Birmingham, UK Robert Ebel, former Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Economist for the Washington, DC Government, USA Anthony Levitas, The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C., USA Gabor Peteri, LGI Development, Ltd, London, UK Karoly Jokay, CEU, Department of Public Policy, Budapest, Hungary Andrea Tonko, Metropolitan Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary |
The course deals with the process of decentralization and reorganizing the functions among different levels of government in developing and transition countries. Nowadays both transition and developing countries are setting up new systems of local and intergovernmental finance process; however, their scope, progress and potential, as well as the outcome of the decentralization process vary greatly across the countries. The objective of the summer course is to bring together a set of examples and experiences of different aspects of decentralization from countries throughout the world, gathering and elaborating arguments both for and against decentralization and examining the factors that stand behind the different outcomes (level of efficiency, accountability, resource mobilization, etc.) of the decentralization process.
The core issues discussed during the course will be punctuated with practical exercises on alternative assignment of responsibilities, designing the grant structure, possible application of performance measurement, capital investments, etc.
Since fiscal decentralization is closely related to the "restructuring of the public economy", it involves rethinking the role of the state in different sectors, such as social policy, education, housing, communal services, etc. Beside the core topics and analytical framework the course will emphasize a sectoral approach and illustrate how sectoral reforms were organized along (or against) the lines of fiscal decentralization principles.
As many countries in the world are characterized by heterogeneity - sometimes labeled as "fragmented societies", evidenced in the form of "within the state differences" in ethnicity, race, language, geographical circumstances, religion, the course devotes special attention to the different aspects of fiscal federalism and "intergovernmental asymmetry".
The course will be comprised of two phases:
- the distance learning phase with five distance learning modules will introduce participants to the basic principles and legal framework of decentralization, expenditure and revenue assignment and intergovernmental transfer
- the face-to-face summer course in Budapest will be offered in a workshop style aiming to achieve the right mix of exercises, case studies lectures, and panel discussions.
