This book offers a step forward in finding out how the new decentralized institutional arrangements affect local economic development. In particular, it analyzes how local governments can use their increasing powers and responsibilities to improve productivity and quality of life in their territories.

"Fiscal and political decentralization has become a hot economic and political topic in recent years. The Local Alternative analyzes both positive and negative aspects related to this phenomenon and does so in an always objective, undogmatic, and policy-relevant way. It is a major work that will have much influence on Latin American policy, and its editors and authors deserve much praise. The book makes a monumental contribution to existing literature, and will surely become an essential reference for scholars and, more importantly, policymakers." - Dr. Vito Tanzi, Former Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

"So far much of the fiscal federalism literature has concentrated on decentralization at the regional level. This book makes an important contribution to the literature by focusing on the requirements for decentralization to effectively improve the provision of urban services at the local level. The interesting case studies illustrate in a compelling and "real-life" fashion the theoretical concepts developed throughout the book. This is a must-read for scholars and officials interested in decentralization issues." - Teresa Ter-Minassian, Expert on fiscal affairs and decentralization, Former Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

Autorentext
Ehtisham Ahmad is head consultant to the Executive Director s Office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a university professor at the London School of Economics. He has worked as a specialist at the IMF s Fiscal Affairs Department and was special advisor to Pakistan s Ministry of Finance. Mr. Ahmad is an economist and an expert in public finance. Fernanda Almeida is an attorney and has been a member of the World Bank s Subnational Doing Business team since 2006. She has worked at the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States. Daniela Brandazza is associate director of Standard & Poor s in the public finance area. She holds Master s degrees in international relations, international political economy, Latin American studies, and public affairs. Tim Campbell is the chairman of the board of the Urban Age Institute. Previously he worked for the World Bank where he was head of the World Bank Institute s urban team and head of the Urban Partnership, as well as coordinator for the city development strategies (CDS) program. He is an expert in decentralization and urban development. Maria Fernanda Campo is president of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce. She has worked as vice minister of foreign relations and as a consultant in the financial sector. She led the founding of the Regional Council of Competitiveness for Bogotá and Cundinamarca, and created, in association with the Bogotá City Hall, Bogotá Emprende, an entrepreneurialcenter, and Invest in Bogotá, the city s foreign investment promotion agency. Jaime Castro is a lawyer, university professor, and specialist in political science and public administration. Previously he was the mayor of Bogotá, minister of state, senator, and constituent member in Columbia. Roberto Chávez is an architect with broad experience in urban development projects. He has worked as a consultant and lecturer and was lead urban specialist at the World Bank. He was also a professor at Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rosa Cobo Mayoral is head of the secretary general s Cabinet for Lands and Biodiversity of the Ministry of the Environment of Spain, and was sub-director general of administration at the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). She is an expert in business science. Rafael de la Cruz is a senior economist in the IDB s Fiscal and Municipal Management Division of the Institutional Capacity and Finance Sector. Previously, he worked as the director general of decentralization in the Venezuelan Presidential Commission to Reform the State and director of the Center for Public Policy at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Administration (IESA). Mr. de la Cruz specializes in subnational public finance, decentralization, and local development. Mercedes García-Escribano works in the IMF s Fiscal Affairs Department. She is an economist and has worked as a fiscal economist on IMF teams in Mexico andPeru. José Antonio González Anaya is an economist and currently heads the Federal Entity Coordination Unit of the Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit. He has also headed the Securities, Insurance, and Pensions Unit at the same organization, and was responsible for macroeconomic analysis in Latin American countries for the World Bank. Victor Manuel Herrera is director of Standard & Poor s in Mexico. He holds a Master s Degree in business administration and has worked in the Corporate Finance Department at Manufacturers Hanover-Chemical Bank. Roberto Lavagna is an economist and the ex-minister of the Ministry of Economy and Production in Argentina. He is a former presidential candidate in Argentina. Salvodar Maluquer I Amorôs is an economist and public administrator and was the general manager of Public Administration Budgeting in Catalonia. He was formerly the head of the Technical Board of the Department of Universities, Research, and Social Information, as well as the head of the Programming Area of the Department of Economy and Finance in the Public Administration of Catalonia. Mr. Maluquer Amorôs was also an associate professor at the University of Barcelona. Hazel McCallion is the mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, serving her eleventh straight term. Her training is in business and she has worked for the Kellogg Company. Ronald MacLean Abaroa works as a specialist on governance and decentralization at the World Bank. He was elected asthe mayor of La Paz on four occasions and occupied various posts in the Bolivian Cabinet in Planning and Coordination, Foreign Relations, Treasury, and Development. Mr. MacLean Abaroa is a public administrator and an anticorruption expert. Juan Carlos Navarro is head specialist at the IDB s Science and Technology Division. He was chair of the Center for Public Policy at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Administration (IESA) and a professor at the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Venezuela. Mr. Navarro specializes in Latin American education theory and practice and in science and technology. Fabiola Ortiz is associate director of the Standard & Poor s Corporate and Infrastructure Ratings Group in Mexico City. She holds Master s Degrees in accounting and business administration. Carlos Pineda Mannheim is an architect and a specialist in municipal and urban development in the IDB s Fiscal and Municipal Management Division of the Institutional Capacity and Finance Sector. He has worked in the territorial planning area in Honduras and has broad experience in regional and urban planning projects, local development, decentralization, and municipal strengthening in Latin America. Álvaro Pio Júnior is an economist and public policy analyst at Belo Horizonte Municipal City Hall in Brazil. He has worked at City Hall on several urban socio-economic development projects. Caroline Pöschl is an attorney and works as a research analyst in the IDB s Fiscal andMunicipal Management Division of the Institutional Capacity and Finance Sector. She works in the areas of decentralization and fiscal management for both the IDB and the World Bank. Júlio Ribeiro Pires is an economist and the secretary of Planning, Information, and Budgets, as well as the former secretary of Finance at Belo Horizonte Municipal City Hall in Brazil. He is also a professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte. Anwar Shah is an economist and the lead specialist in Public…