Decentralization and poverty alleviation. International experience and thecase of the Philippines

In recent years, decentralization has become quite common in developing cou ntries. The essence of decentralization is that it does not occur in genera l but rather in a particular context, so that decentralization takes many d ifferent forms in different countries at different times. Comparative analy sis is often illuminating and the article uses it to cast some light on the current moves towards decentralization in the Philippines. Section 2 provi des a quantitative overview of the relationship between decentralization an d poverty across a number of Asian and Latin American countries. Section 3 discusses key aspects of the relationship between decentralization and pove rty alleviation in the Philippines, drawing on a number of decentralization experiences in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Section 3.1 focuses on local capacity and Section 3.2 on local fi nancial resources, in particular the role of fiscal transfers. Section 3.3 examines the effects of different approaches to decentralization on the tar geting and delivery of poverty-related services-health, primary education, housing and infrastructure. Section 4 concludes by noting the importance of migration in any treatment of decentralization and poverty. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.