Gregory D Schmidt - Donors And Decentralization In Developing Countries: Insights From Aid Experience In Peru

Donors And Decentralization In Developing Countries: Insights From Aid Experience In Peru — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Donors And Decentralization In Developing Countries: Insights From Aid Experience In Peru" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...49

Donors and Decentralization in Developing Countries

Donors and Decentralization in Developing Countries

Insights from AID Experience in Peru

Gregory D. Schmidt

First published 1989 by Westview Press, Inc.

Published 2018 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright 1989 Taylor & Francis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schmidt, Gregory D., 1952
Donors and decentralization in developing countries: insights from AID experience in Peru/Gregory D. Schmidt.
p. cm.(Westview special studies in social, political, and economic development)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8133-7696-3
1. Decentralization in governmentPeru. 2. PeruEconomic policy. 3. Economic assistance, AmericaPeru. I. Title. II. Series.
JL3420.S8S36 1989
354.8507'3dc20

89-32720
CIP

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-01289-2 (hbk)

For My Parents, Don and Doris Schmidt

Contents

Guide

As a direct participant in the Agency for International Development's efforts to support decentralization in Peru from 1983 to 1986, I feel both uniquely qualified and less than completely objective in reviewing Gregory Schmidt's work. I believe that the reader must be the final judge of the extent of this study's usefulness. I can offer commentary only from my personal perspective, which has been profoundly influenced by my experience in Peru. That perspective unabashedly views decentralisation of authority, financial management, decision making, and resource allocation as necessary to empower people who have to live with the results of programs and projects intended to benefit them.

This book examines AID support for the Peruvian government's decentralization efforts through the Integrated Regional Development (IRD) Project; the Disaster Relief, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction (DRR) Project; and activities financed by Program Development and Support (PD&S) funds. The common element in the IRD and DRR projects was their use of decentralized organizations, especially departmental development corporations (CORDES), as planning and implementing agencies.

The IRD project began in 1979 as an experimental project that sought to test the viability of linking investments with institutional development in two highland departments. In 1983 its mandate was expanded to promote the institutional development of CORDES and municipalities throughout the country. Operating through CORDES in fifteen of Peru's twenty-four departments during the 1983-1987 period, the DRR project helped the country to recover from the El Nio-related disasters of 1983 by supporting the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure, the recapitalization of poor farmers, and measures to alleviate the effects of future disasters. During the 1984-1986 period, AID/Peru tried to link the lessons learned from these projects to more permanent institutional changes through applied research financed by PD&S funds and through policy dialogue with organizations and individuals in the public and private sectors.

The outcome of Schmidt's work is an extensive review of these efforts, a comprehensive assessment of what they contributed to decentralization provide insightful commentary and some bold hypotheses, which are offered to guide future research.

Throughout the study, Schmidt displays an exceptional ability to relate the details of two very complex projects to broader issues. The most important lessons drawn out and analyzed by him deal with the political dynamics of decentralization in the Peruvian context and what can be generalized from that experience. He goes well beyond invocation of the need for political support, examining with keen insight the conditions and strategies conducive to creating such support.

Perhaps Schmidt's most important and original contribution is the treatment of interest group politics and the motivations affecting group and individual behavior toward decentralization. In addition, his analysis of the role of donor organizations in the decentralization process is insightful and of particular use to the donor community. He also makes a commendable effort to address the sustainability of decentralization efforts, even though sustainability was not emphasized in either project.

In conclusion, Schmidt's work is highly relevant for those of us who seek to help governments more efficiently and equitably carry out the process of economic development. By "picking apart" the Peruvian case and analyzing lessons learned there in light of the broader experience with decentralization worldwide, he makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the dynamics and impacts of governmental decentralization. If, with the help of this study, we can find more effective means of bringing development planning and implementation closer to the intended beneficiaries of such efforts, we will have a better chance of producing meaningful and sustainable results.

David W Hess
Consultant, World Bank
La Paz, Bolivia

This book would not be possible without the cooperation, suggestions, and encouragement given by many people affiliated with the United States Agency for International Development (AID), agencies of the Peruvian government, and private sector organizations. Sheer numbers and a desire to protect the anonymity of sources working in the Peruvian public sector make it impossible for me to thank individually each person. Here I would like to express my gratitude to a few key individuals.

David Hess and Michael Hirsh, who were respectively managers of the IRD and DRR projects, took time from impossible schedules to answer conscientiously my many questions. Their interest in my research went well beyond the natural concern for accuracy and fairness in any review of their projects. Both actively encouraged and stimulated my efforts to address broader political, organizational, and design issues.

The analysis especially benefited from conversations with George Baldino, Paul Dillon, David Flood, Henry Izquierdo, Keith Kline, and Johannes Oosterkamp of AID/Peru; Ray Bromley and Jos Garzn, both formerly affiliated with the AID mission; and Arthur Mudge and Fernando Cruz-Villalba of the DRR final evaluation team. I also learned a great deal from participation in brainstorming sessions with members of the IRD final evaluation team: Eric Chetwynd, Linn Hammergren, Ronald Johnson, Dennis Rondinelli, and Patricia Wilson Salinas. Previous work with Norman Uphoff and the Working Group on Local Institutional Development at Cornell University greatly stimulated my thinking on decentralization and project-design issues.

In addition, Donald Chisholm, David Hess, Dwight King, Keith Kline, Dennis Rondinelli, and Raymond Waldron provided written comments on drafts of the study at various stages. Michael Hirsh's extensive written comments on the penultimate draft were especially helpful. Dennis Rondinelli also gave very useful advice regarding the focus of the comparative analysis. Weixing Chen, Martin Dubin, Chetan Kumar, Jae-Young Park, and Ladd Thomas helped me to whip the manuscript into its final form.

Next page

1234567...49

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Donors And Decentralization In Developing Countries: Insights From Aid Experience In Peru»

Look at similar books to Donors And Decentralization In Developing Countries: Insights From Aid Experience In Peru. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Thomas Wolf

How to Connect with Donors and Double the Money You Raise

Thomas Fleiner-Gerster

Federalism and Decentralization: Constitutional Problems of Territorial Decentralization in Federal and Centralized States

Jan Erk

Decentralization, Democracy, and Development in Africa

Cynt McClintock

The United States and Peru: Cooperation -- at a Cost

Andrew Selee

Decentralization, Democratization, and Informal Power in Mexico

Emmanuel Eilu (editor)

Digital Literacy and Socio-Cultural Acceptance of ICT in Developing Countries

Wayne R. Thirsk

Tax reform in developing countries, Volume 235

Cathy Gaynor

Decentralization of education: teacher management, Part 292

Nagy Hanna

The diffusion of information technology: experience of industrial countries and lessons for developing countries, Parts 63-281

Jennie I. Litvack

Rethinking Decentralization in Developing Countries (Sector Studies Series)

James Manor

The Political Economy of Democratic Decentralization (Directions in Development)

Sam Lubbe

IT Investment in Developing Countries: An Assessment and Practical Guideline

Discussion, reviews of the book Donors And Decentralization In Developing Countries: Insights From Aid Experience In Peru and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.