Drawing on the expertise of a wide range of international scholars, this book is intended to clarify theory and practice surrounding decentralization and local governance initiatives in the Public Sectors of developing and transitional countries.

This book was published as a special double issue of the International Journal of Public Administration.

1. Perspectives on Decentralization and Local Governance in Developing and Transitional Countries 2. Digitized Government in Worldwide Municipalities between 2003 and 2007 3. Choosing between Centralized and Decentralized Models of Tax Administration 4. The Past, Present, and Future of Decentralisation in Africa: A Comparative Case Study of Local Government Development Trajectories of Ghana and Uganda 5. Challenges of Making Donor-Driven Public Sector Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa Sustainable: Some Experiences from Ghana 6. Indonesian Decentralization: Accountability Deferred 7. Decentralization and Local Governance in Kazakhstan 8. Decentralizing Local Governance in Thailand: Contemporary Trends and Challenges 9. Is Decentralization Still Recentralization? The Local Government Reform Programme in Tanzania 10. An Analysis of Quasi-Decentralized Budgeting in Vietnam 11. Decentralization and 'Consumerization' of the Training Function: The 'Re-invention' of the Central Training Institute of Hong Kong 12. Local Government Reform Programs and Human Resource Capacity Building in Africa: Evidence from Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania 13. Assessing the Scope for Partnerships Between Local Governments and Community-Based Organizations: Findings from Rural Morocco 14. Decentralisation, Service Delivery, and People's Perspectives: Empirical Observations on Selected Social Protection Programs in India 15. Decentralised Management of Solid Waste in Mumbai Slums: Informal Privatisation through Patronage

Christopher J. Rees is a Senior Lecturer in Organisational Change and Development at the Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK, where he co-direct the Centre for Organisations in Development.

Farhad Hossain is a Lecturer in Development Management at the Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK, where he coordinates the PhD Programme in Development Policy and Management.