Annual World Bank Conference on Development in Latin America and the Caribbean - 1999 Proceedings: Decentralization and Accountability of the Public Sector

As the world's economy marches toward globalization, people are debating globalization's effect on the poor in developing countries. Will the developing countries be left behind? How can they be helped? What does globalization have to offer them?

Since most of the countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region are considered developing countries, the issue of these effects is especially pertinent and it formed the focus of the discussions at this conference. This publication presents some of the papers submitted at this annual conference, the fifth one focusing on developing economies in the region. The 1999 Proceedings talks about decentralization and the need to bring government closer to the people in a rapidly changing global economic environment. For developing countries to realize the power of globalization, they need to concentrate on the power of decentralization, that is, getting their citizens involved in their own development and defining their own future. The aim of these discussions and this publication is to impart the knowledge needed to turn globalization into an asset rather than a liability. To accomplish this goal, the publication focuses on three subject areas: a framework for fiscal federalism; sectoral issues; and local financing and management capacity.

This publication will be of interest to academics, policymakers, and decentralization experts.