@phdthesis{Ehrke2011, author = {Ehrke, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Zur Stabilisierung fragmentierter Staaten}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-155-4}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-53975}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {366}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Die internationale Staatengemeinschaft steht Sezessionsbestrebungen zur Aufspaltung bestehender Staaten gew{\"o}hnlich ablehnend gegen{\"u}ber. Gleichzeitig wendet sie in vielen L{\"a}ndern Instrumente der Entwicklungspolitik an und greift so auch in den dortigen politischen Prozess ein. Untersucht wird, inwiefern Entwicklungspolitik so gestaltet werden kann, dass sie nicht, quasi als Nebenwirkung, einer Sezessionsbewegung zum Durchbruch verhilft. Betrachtet wird dabei neben der gezielten F{\"o}rderung wirtschaftlichen Wachstums auch das Instrument der Dezentralisierung, das oft als Mittel zur „Beruhigung" separatistischer Bestrebungen vorgeschlagen wird. Zuvor jedoch wird aufgewiesen, dass eine Politik, die Sezessionen verhindern will, zumindest in vielen F{\"a}llen auch moralphilosophisch schl{\"u}ssig begr{\"u}ndet werden kann. Den Abschluss der Arbeit bilden drei Fallstudien zu Sezessionen auf dem Gebiet der ehemaligen Sowjetunion.}, language = {de} } @book{Ehrke2007, author = {Ehrke, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Zentralisieren durch Dezentralisierung? : Die Reform der Kommunalfinanzen in Georgien}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-18515}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2007}, abstract = {Under the influence of orientation towards European integration, Georgia has introduced a variety of new laws with the apparent aim to decentralize legislative and executive powers. This paper shows that the Georgian efforts of decentralization remain superficial, mainly because they are not backed by additional fiscal competences at the municipality level. Following an initial description of the pre-reform situation as of 2006 and based upon a detailed account of the structural changes since 2007, the author gives insight into the conflicts which arise from the lack of institutional congruency. Neither the extraordinary status of the capital Tbilisi nor the seeming autonomy of the Rebublic of Adjara are likely to sway the renegade territories of Abchasia and Ossetia towards a reintegration under Georgian centralized rule as it continues to exist today. Likewise, the success of the proposed and discussed fiscal equalization scheme depends on whether the President and his ruling party are willing to delegate powers to the subodinate jurisdictions.}, language = {de} } @techreport{OPUS4-4236, type = {Working Paper}, title = {Tax systems and tax harmonisation in the East African Community (EAC)}, series = {Finanzwissenschaftliche Diskussionsbeitr{\"a}ge}, journal = {Finanzwissenschaftliche Diskussionsbeitr{\"a}ge}, number = {60}, editor = {Petersen, Hans-Georg}, issn = {1864-1431}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-44693}, pages = {128}, year = {2010}, abstract = {In the first part of the report of the GTZ expert group an overview on the basics of integration and tax harmonisation within a common market is given. Chapter II. concentrates on the problems of national and international tax law regarding double taxation before the harmonisation process within the EU is described in detail. This process is not a best practice example but at least the experiences made in the course of the last five decades are interesting enough and might contribute important information for regions, which more or less recently have started a similar endeavour. The harmonisation needs are discussed for value added taxation (VAT), excise taxation, and income taxation. The problems of tax administrations, procedures laws, taxpayers' rights and obligations as well as tax compliance are also taken into consideration. The second part of the study reviews the national tax systems within the EAC member countries. Before the single taxes are described in more detail, the macroeconomic situation is illuminated by some basic figures and the current stand of the inner-community integration analysed. Then the single tax bases and tax rates are confronted to shed some light on the necessities for the development of a common market within the near future. Again the value added tax laws, excise taxes and income taxes are discussed in detail, while regarding the latter the focus is on company taxation. For a better systematic analysis the national tax laws are confronted within an overview. The chapter is closed with a summary of the tax rates applied and a rough estimation of the tax burdens within the Partner States. The third part of this report contains the policy recommendations of the expert group following the same structures as the chapters before and presenting the results for the VAT, the excises and the corporate income tax (CIT). Additionally the requirements for tax procedures and administration as well as problems of transparency and information exchange are discussed in detail before the strategic recommendations are derived in close relation to the experiences made within the EU harmonisation process. The recommendations are based on the following normative arguments: (1) Tax harmonisation is a basic requirement for economic integration. (2) Equality of taxation is an imperative of tax justice and demands the avoidance of double taxation as well as the combat of tax evasion and corruption. (3) The avoidance of harmful tax competition between the Partner States. (4) The strengthening of taxpayers' rights in tax procedures. Hence, all kinds of income, goods and services should be taxed once and only once.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ruehling2008, author = {R{\"u}hling, Markus}, title = {Substitution effect through fiscal transfers?! : incidence of the Peruvian property tax}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-42100}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2008}, abstract = {Whether the results of fiscal transfers have positive or negative implications depends upon the incentives that transfer systems create for both central and local governments. The complexity and ambiguity of the relationship between fiscal transfers and tax revenues of local governments is one of the main causes why research projects, even in the same country, come to different results. This investigation is seriously questioning the often stated substitution effect based only on an analysis of aggregated data and finally rejects in the qualitative part of this research (using survey techniques) a substitution effect in the majority of the assessed municipalities. While most theories are modeling governments as tax-maximizers (Leviathan) or as being prone to fiscal laziness, this investigation shows that mayors react to a whole set of incentives. Most mayors react rational and rather pragmatically in respect to the incentives and constraints which are established by the particular context of a municipality, the central government and their own personality/identity/interests. While the yield on property tax in Peru is low, there are no signs that increases in transfers have had, on average, a negative impact on their revenue generation. On an individual basis there exist mayors who are revenue maximizers, others who are substituting revenues and others who show apathy. Many engage in property tax. While rural or small municipalities have limited potential, property taxes are the main revenue sources for the Peruvian urban municipalities, rising on average 10\% during the last five years. The property tax in Peru accounts for less than 0.2\% of GDP, which compared to the Latin American average, is extremely low. In 2002, property tax was collecting nationwide about 10\% of the overall budget of local governments. In 2006, the share was closer to 6\% due to windfall transfers. The property tax can enhance accountability at the local level and has important impacts on urban spatial development. It is also important considering that most charges or transfers are earmarked such that property tax yields can cover discretionary finances. The intergovernmental fiscal transfers can be described as a patchwork of political liabilities of the past rather than connected with thorough compensation or service improvement functions. The fiscal base of local governments in Peru remains small for the municipalities and the incentive structure to enhance property tax revenues is far from optimal. The central government and sector institutions, which are in the Peruvian institutional design of the property tax responsible for the enablement environment, can reinforce local tax efforts. In the past the central government permanently changed the rules of the game, giving municipalities reduced predictability of policy choices. There are no relevant signs that a stronger property tax is captured by Peruvian interest groups. Since the central government has responsibility for tax regulation and partly valuation there has been little debate about financial issues on the local political agenda. Most council members are therefore not familiar with tax issues. If the central government did not set the tax rate and valuation then there would probably be a more vigorous public debate and an electorate that was better informed about local politics. Elected mayors (as political and administrative leaders) are not counterbalanced and held in check by an active council and/or by vigorous local political parties. Local politics are concentrated on the mayor, electoral rules, the institutional design and political culture - all of which are not helpful in increasing the degree of influence that citizens and associations have upon collective decision-making at the local level. The many alternations between democracy and autocracy have not been helpful in building strong institutions at the local level. Property tax revenues react slowly and the institutional context matters because an effective tax system as a public good can only be created if actors have long time horizons. The property tax has a substantial revenue potential, however, since municipalities are going through a transfer bonanza, it is especially difficult to make a plea for increasing their own revenue base. Local governments should be the proponents of property tax reform, but they have, in Peru, little policy clout because the municipal associations are dispersed and there exists little relevant information concerning important local policy issues.}, language = {en} } @book{Gamsachurdia2007, author = {Gamsachurdia, Giwi}, title = {Steuerverteilung und Finanzausgleich}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-18784}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2007}, abstract = {This paper analyzes fundamental shortcomings in the Georgian legal bases in both the constitution and the tax code with regard to a sustainable fiscal policy. It shows that the lack of experience with sharing political powers and competences among the administrative levels create centralizing tendencies, which are in sharp contrast to more recent laws on local selfgovernment. Having set the legal background of today's administrative structure in Georgia, the paper continues to describe the country's budget composition in terms of tax revenues and expenses since the year 2000. Following a brief discussion of the Georgian systems of transfers to subordinate administrative entities the paper concludes by naming essential reform steps that need to be taken towards the development of a functioning fiscal policy on all levels.}, language = {de} } @techreport{Petersen2008, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Petersen, Hans-Georg}, title = {Integration, decentralization, taxation, and revenue sharing}, series = {Finanzwissenschaftliche Diskussionsbeitr{\"a}ge}, journal = {Finanzwissenschaftliche Diskussionsbeitr{\"a}ge}, number = {57}, issn = {1864-1431}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-27367}, pages = {41}, year = {2008}, abstract = {The paper tries to shed some light on the problems of centralization and decentralization within an economic union and the federal member states. Integration and decentralization are not opposite policy strategies but both meaningful if the single public goods and services supplies are analyzed in more detail. Both strategies doubtlessly have advantages, which can be realized if the manifold possibilities are combined in an efficient approach of good governance. Best practice approaches in inter- or supra-national integration, fiscal federalism and taxation do exist and have to be successfully implemented. Obviously such a modern fiscal policy has to be accompanied by an appropriate monetary policy, which in an economic union has to be carried out by an independent central bank as one of the necessary countervailing powers in a democratic setting. A modern fiscal policy strategy efficiently controls budget deficits, which naturally have to be limited to finance reliable public investments. Such strategy has to be safeguarded through modern methods of budgeting and fiscal planning. Modern public management with a clear code of conduct for the government officials ensures corruption free administration.}, language = {de} } @misc{Paun2007, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Paun, Christopher}, title = {Democratization and police reform}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19487}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2007}, abstract = {This paper compares police reforms during democratization in Poland, Hungary, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It analyses the changes to the structure of the democratic control of the police in each reform, paying special attention to the decentralization versus centralization aspect of it. The research question of this paper is: Why are some states decentralizing the democratic control of the police, while others are centralizing it, both with the aim of democratization? The theoretical background of this study are theories about policy diffusion and policy transfer. Therefore this study can be categorized as part of two different research areas. On the one hand, it is a paper from the discipline of International Relations. On the other hand, it is a paper from the discipline of Comparative Politics. The combined attention to international and national factors influencing police reform is reflected by the structure of this paper. Chapter 3 examines police structures and police reforms in established democracies as possible role models for new democracies. Chapter 4 looks at international and transnational actors that actively try to influence police reform. After having examined these external factors, three cases of police reform in new democracies are examined in chapter 5.}, language = {en} } @article{EbingerRichter2016, author = {Ebinger, Falk and Richter, Philipp}, title = {Decentralizing for performance? A quantitative assessment of functional reforms in the German Lander}, series = {International review of administrative sciences : an international journal of comparative public administration}, volume = {82}, journal = {International review of administrative sciences : an international journal of comparative public administration}, publisher = {Sage Publ.}, address = {London}, issn = {0020-8523}, doi = {10.1177/0020852315586916}, pages = {291 -- 314}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In the last 10 years, the governments of most of the German L{\"a}nder initiated administrative reforms. All of these ventures included the municipalization of substantial sets of tasks. As elsewhere, governments argue that service delivery by communes is more cost-efficient, effective and responsive. Empirical evidence to back these claims is inconsistent at best: a considerable number of case studies cast doubt on unconditionally positive appraisals. Decentralization effects seem to vary depending on the performance dimension and task considered. However, questions of generalizability arise as these findings have not yet been backed by more 'objective' archival data. We provide empirical evidence on decentralization effects for two different policy fields based on two studies. Thereby, the article presents alternative avenues for research on decentralization effects and matches the theoretical expectations on decentralization effects with more robust results. The analysis confirms that overly positive assertions concerning decentralization effects are only partially warranted. As previous case studies suggested, effects have to be looked at in a much more differentiated way, including starting conditions and distinguishing between the various relevant performance dimensions and policy fields.}, language = {en} } @misc{EbingerRichter2015, author = {Ebinger, Falk and Richter, Philipp}, title = {Decentralizing for performance?}, series = {International review of administrative sciences}, journal = {International review of administrative sciences}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-405158}, pages = {24}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In the last 10 years, the governments of most of the German Lander initiated administrative reforms. All of these ventures included the municipalization of substantial sets of tasks. As elsewhere, governments argue that service delivery by communes is more cost-efficient, effective and responsive. Empirical evidence to back these claims is inconsistent at best: a considerable number of case studies cast doubt on unconditionally positive appraisals. Decentralization effects seem to vary depending on the performance dimension and task considered. However, questions of generalizability arise as these findings have not yet been backed by more 'objective' archival data. We provide empirical evidence on decentralization effects for two different policy fields based on two studies. Thereby, the article presents alternative avenues for research on decentralization effects and matches the theoretical expectations on decentralization effects with more robust results. The analysis confirms that overly positive assertions concerning decentralization effects are only partially warranted. As previous case studies suggested, effects have to be looked at in a much more differentiated way, including starting conditions and distinguishing between the various relevant performance dimensions and policy fields.}, language = {en} } @misc{Muriu2012, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Muriu, Abraham Rugo}, title = {Decentralization, citizen participation and local public service delivery : a study on the nature and influence of citizen participation on decentralized service delivery in Kenya}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-65085}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Governments at central and sub-national levels are increasingly pursuing participatory mechanisms in a bid to improve governance and service delivery. This has been largely in the context of decentralization reforms in which central governments transfer (share) political, administrative, fiscal and economic powers and functions to sub-national units. Despite the great international support and advocacy for participatory governance where citizen's voice plays a key role in decision making of decentralized service delivery, there is a notable dearth of empirical evidence as to the effect of such participation. This is the question this study sought to answer based on a case study of direct citizen participation in Local Authorities (LAs) in Kenya. This is as formally provided for by the Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plan (LASDAP) framework that was established to ensure citizens play a central role in planning and budgeting, implementation and monitoring of locally identified services towards improving livelihoods and reducing poverty. Influence of participation was assessed in terms of how it affected five key determinants of effective service delivery namely: efficient allocation of resources; equity in service delivery; accountability and reduction of corruption; quality of services; and, cost recovery. It finds that the participation of citizens is minimal and the resulting influence on the decentralized service delivery negligible. It concludes that despite the dismal performance of citizen participation, LASDAP has played a key role towards institutionalizing citizen participation that future structures will build on. It recommends that an effective framework of citizen participation should be one that is not directly linked to politicians; one that is founded on a legal framework and where citizens have a legal recourse opportunity; and, one that obliges LA officials both to implement what citizen's proposals which meet the set criteria as well as to account for their actions in the management of public resources.}, language = {en} } @article{KuhlmannReiter2016, author = {Kuhlmann, Sabine and Reiter, Renate}, title = {Decentralization of the French welfare state: from 'big bang' to 'muddling through'}, series = {International Review of Administrative Sciences}, volume = {82}, journal = {International Review of Administrative Sciences}, number = {2}, publisher = {Sage}, address = {London}, issn = {0020-8523}, doi = {0.1177/0020852315583194}, pages = {255 -- 272}, year = {2016}, abstract = {This article analyses the decentralization of the French welfare state focusing on the transfer of the Revenu minimum d'insertion (RMI) welfare benefit to the departments in 2003 and 2004. We map and explain the effects of the reform on the system and performance of the subnational provision of welfare tasks. To evaluate the impact of decentralization on the RMI-related action of the departments, we carry out a qualitative document analysis and use data from two case studies. The RMI decentralization offers an exemplary insight into the incremental implementation of French decentralization. We find many unintended effects in terms of the performance and outcome of the subnational welfare provision. This is traced back to the combining of institutional and policy reforms and the inadequate translation of high political expectations into an inadequate action programme both resulting in excessive demands on the local actors. Points for practitioners The decentralization of public tasks is associated with high expectations in terms of the effects on the performance of public services and public governance on the subnational levels. For an in-depth measure the range of administrative performance and political systems effects should be taken into account. We propose a five-dimensional scheme allowing for the determination of decentralization effects on the resource input to and the operative output of subnational public services, on the horizontal coordination between subnational task holders and the affected non-public stakeholders, on the vertical intergovernmental coordination, and on the democratic accountability of subnational authorities.}, language = {en} } @incollection{KuhlmannMarienfeldt2023, author = {Kuhlmann, Sabine and Marienfeldt, Justine}, title = {Comparing local government systems and reforms in Europe}, series = {Handbook on local and regional governance}, booktitle = {Handbook on local and regional governance}, editor = {Teles, Filipe}, publisher = {Edward Elgar Publishing}, address = {Cheltenham, UK}, isbn = {978-1-80037-119-4}, doi = {10.4337/9781800371200.00033}, pages = {313 -- 329}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The study of subnational and local government systems and reforms has become an increasingly salient topic in comparative public administration. In many European countries, policy implementation, the execution of public tasks and the delivery of services to citizens are largely carried out by local governments, which, at the same time, have been subjected to multiple reforms and sometimes comprehensive institutional re-organizations. This chapter discusses analytical key concepts and outcomes of the comparative study of local governments and local government reforms. It outlines frameworks and analytical tools to capture the variety of institutional settings and developments at the local level of government. It provides an introduction into crucial comparative dimensions, such as functional, territorial and political profiles of local governments, and analyses current reform approaches and outcomes based on recent empirical findings. Finally, the chapter addresses salient issues to be taken up in future comparative studies about local government.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ehrentraut2013, author = {Ehrentraut, Stefan}, title = {Challenging Khmer citizenship : minorities, the state, and the international community in Cambodia}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-70355}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The idea of a distinctly 'liberal' form of multiculturalism has emerged in the theory and practice of Western democracies and the international community has become actively engaged in its global dissemination via international norms and organizations. This thesis investigates the internationalization of minority rights, by exploring state-minority relations in Cambodia, in light of Will Kymlicka's theory of multicultural citizenship. Based on extensive empirical research, the analysis explores the situation and aspirations of Cambodia's ethnic Vietnamese, highland peoples, Muslim Cham, ethnic Chinese and Lao and the relationships between these groups and the state. All Cambodian regimes since independence have defined citizenship with reference to the ethnicity of the Khmer majority and have - often violently - enforced this conception through the assimilation of highland peoples and the Cham and the exclusion of ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese. Cambodia's current constitution, too, defines citizenship ethnically. State-sponsored Khmerization systematically privileges members of the majority culture and marginalizes minority members politically, economically and socially. The thesis investigates various international initiatives aimed at promoting application of minority rights norms in Cambodia. It demonstrates that these initiatives have largely failed to accomplish a greater degree of compliance with international norms in practice. This failure can be explained by a number of factors, among them Cambodia's neo-patrimonial political system, the geo-political fears of a 'minoritized' Khmer majority, the absence of effective regional security institutions, the lack of minority access to political decision-making, the significant differences between international and Cambodian conceptions of modern statehood and citizenship and the emergence of China as Cambodia's most important bilateral donor and investor. Based on this analysis, the dissertation develops recommendations for a sequenced approach to minority rights promotion, with pragmatic, less ambitious shorter-term measures that work progressively towards achievement of international norms in the longer-term.}, language = {en} } @article{HickmannFuhrHoehneetal.2017, author = {Hickmann, Thomas and Fuhr, Harald and H{\"o}hne, Chris and Lederer, Markus and Stehle, Fee}, title = {Carbon Governance Arrangements and the Nation-State: The Reconfiguration of Public Authority in Developing Countries}, series = {Public administration and development}, volume = {37}, journal = {Public administration and development}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0271-2075}, doi = {10.1002/pad.1814}, pages = {331 -- 343}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Several scholars concerned with global policy-making have recently pointed to a reconfiguration of authority in the area of climate politics. They have shown that various new carbon governance arrangements have emerged, which operate simultaneously at different governmental levels. However, despite the numerous descriptions and mapping exercises of these governance arrangements, we have little systematic knowledge on their workings within national jurisdictions, let alone about their impact on public-administrative systems in developing countries. Therefore, this article opens the black box of the nation-state and explores how and to what extent two different arrangements, that is, Transnational City Networks and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, generate changes in the distribution of public authority in nation-states and their administrations. Building upon conceptual assumptions that the former is likely to lead to more decentralized, and the latter to more centralized policy-making, we provide insights from case studies in Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, and India. In a nutshell, our analysis underscores that Transnational City Networks strengthen climate-related actions taken by cities without ultimately decentralizing climate policy-making. On the other hand, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation tends to reinforce the competencies of central governments, but apparently does not generate a recentralization of the forestry sector at large.}, language = {en} } @article{Kuhlmann2015, author = {Kuhlmann, Sabine}, title = {Administrative Reforms in the Intergovernmental Setting}, series = {Multi-Level Governance: The Missing Linkages (Critical Perspectives on International Public Sector Management)}, volume = {4}, journal = {Multi-Level Governance: The Missing Linkages (Critical Perspectives on International Public Sector Management)}, publisher = {Emerald Group Publishing Limited}, address = {Bingley}, isbn = {978-1-78441-874-8 (print)}, issn = {2045-7944}, doi = {10.1108/S2045-794420150000004008}, pages = {183 -- 215}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Purpose This chapter is aimed at contributing to the question of how institutional reforms affect multi-level governance (MLG) capacities and thus the performance of public task fulfillment with a particular focus on the local level of government in England, France, and Germany. Methodology/approach Drawing on concepts of institutional evaluation, we analytically distinguish six dimensions of impact assessment: vertical coordination; horizontal coordination; efficiency/savings; effectiveness/quality; political accountability/democratic control; equity of service standards. Methodologically, we rely on document analysis and expert judgments that could be gleaned from case studies in the three countries and a comprehensive evaluation of the available secondary data in the respective national and local contexts. Findings Institutional reforms in the intergovernmental setting have exerted a significant influence on task fulfillment and the performance of service delivery. Irrespective of whether MLG practice corresponds to type I or type II, task devolution (decentralization/de-concentration) furthers the interlocal variation and makes the equity of service delivery shrink. There is a general tendency of improved horizontal/MLG type I coordination capacities, especially after political decentralization, less in the case of administrative decentralization. However, decentralization often entails considerable additional costs which sometimes overload local governments. Research implications The distinction between multi-purpose territorial organization/MLG I and single-purpose functional organization/MLG II provides a suitable analytical frame for institutional evaluation and impact assessment of reforms in the intergovernmental setting. Furthermore, comparative research into the relationship between MLG and institutional reforms is needed to reveal the explanatory power of intervening factors, such as the local budgetary and staff situation, local policy preferences, and political interests in conjunction with the salience of the transferred tasks. Practical implications The findings provide evidence on the causal relationship between specific types of (vertical) institutional reforms, performance, and task-related characteristics. Policy-makers and government actors may use this information when drafting institutional reform programs and determining the allocation of public tasks in the intergovernmental setting. Social implications In general, the euphoric expectations placed upon decentralization strategies in modern societies cannot straightforwardly be justified. Our findings show that any type of task transfer to lower levels of government exacerbates existing disparities or creates new ones. However, the integration of tasks within multi-functional, politically accountable local governments may help to improve MLG type I coordination in favor of local communities and territorially based societal actors, while the opposite may be said with regard to de-concentration and the strengthening of MLG type II coordination. Originality/value The chapter addresses a missing linkage in the existing MLG literature which has hitherto predominantly been focused on the political decision-making and on the implementation of reforms in the intergovernmental settings of European countries, whereas the impact of such reforms and of their consequences for MLG has remained largely ignored.}, language = {en} }