Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana
In recent years, many developing countries have devolved services to locally elected governments. Although this may strengthen downwards accountability to citizens, does devolution improve service provision? Ghana began devolving agriculture in 2012 to its Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assem...
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Springer
2022
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141243 |
| _version_ | 1855514779490189312 |
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| author | Resnick, Danielle |
| author_browse | Resnick, Danielle |
| author_facet | Resnick, Danielle |
| author_sort | Resnick, Danielle |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | In recent years, many developing countries have devolved services to locally elected governments. Although this may strengthen downwards accountability to citizens, does devolution improve service provision? Ghana began devolving agriculture in 2012 to its Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Drawing on an original survey with 80 District Directors of Agriculture and 960 households, as well as district-level budget data and interviews with national and local government stakeholders, this paper shows that agricultural expenditures and services have been negatively affected by the transition. The imperative of electoral accountability encourages assembly members to de-prioritize agriculture in the budget process in favor of more visible goods and services. Budget allocations, however, do reflect the preferences of local citizens, a majority of whom value using elections to sanction their district politicians. The findings indicate that devolution may increase accountability but result in sectoral trade-offs in service provision, which may undermine national policy objectives. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace141243 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1412432025-10-26T13:02:06Z Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana Resnick, Danielle local government services capacity development agriculture budgets devolution accountability governance In recent years, many developing countries have devolved services to locally elected governments. Although this may strengthen downwards accountability to citizens, does devolution improve service provision? Ghana began devolving agriculture in 2012 to its Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Drawing on an original survey with 80 District Directors of Agriculture and 960 households, as well as district-level budget data and interviews with national and local government stakeholders, this paper shows that agricultural expenditures and services have been negatively affected by the transition. The imperative of electoral accountability encourages assembly members to de-prioritize agriculture in the budget process in favor of more visible goods and services. Budget allocations, however, do reflect the preferences of local citizens, a majority of whom value using elections to sanction their district politicians. The findings indicate that devolution may increase accountability but result in sectoral trade-offs in service provision, which may undermine national policy objectives. 2022-04 2024-04-12T13:37:32Z 2024-04-12T13:37:32Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141243 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145879 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133774 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2017.02.011 Open Access Springer Resnick, Danielle. 2022. Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana. European Journal of Development Research 34: 1003–1029. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-021-00408-x |
| spellingShingle | local government services capacity development agriculture budgets devolution accountability governance Resnick, Danielle Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana |
| title | Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana |
| title_full | Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana |
| title_short | Does accountability undermine service delivery? The impact of devolving agriculture in Ghana |
| title_sort | does accountability undermine service delivery the impact of devolving agriculture in ghana |
| topic | local government services capacity development agriculture budgets devolution accountability governance |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141243 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT resnickdanielle doesaccountabilityundermineservicedeliverytheimpactofdevolvingagricultureinghana |