Municipal politics and forest governance: Comparative analysis of decentralization in Bolivia and Guatemala

The success of efforts to decentralize governance responsibilities hinges upon the incentives of local politicians. We test this argument by studying the experiences of forestry sector decentralization in Bolivia and Guatemala. We analyze the survey responses of 200 mayors and show that local-level...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:World development 2006-03, Vol.34 (3), p.576-595
Main Authors: Andersson, Krister P., Gibson, Clark C., Lehoucq, Fabrice
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bolivia
Comparative analysis
Decentralization
Decision making
Forest management
Forestry
Governance
Guatemala
incentives
Investment
Latin America
Local politics
Mayors
Municipal government
Polls & surveys
Studies
Urban government
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Summary:The success of efforts to decentralize governance responsibilities hinges upon the incentives of local politicians. We test this argument by studying the experiences of forestry sector decentralization in Bolivia and Guatemala. We analyze the survey responses of 200 mayors and show that local-level institutional incentives are systematically linked to variations in local politicians’ interest and investment decisions in the forestry sector. Further, we find that a decentralization policy that transfers very limited decision-making powers to local governments stifles local interest in organizing resource governance activities.
ISSN:0305-750X
1873-5991
DOI:10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.08.009