Cross-Cutting Literature Review on the Drivers of Local Council Accountability and Performance

There is now a considerable body of literature on decentralization in diverse national contexts. Ascertaining factors that drive local accountability and performance have been the key concerns of these studies. Diverse ethodological instruments and approaches have been used—from large-n statistical analyses to in-depth case study techniques. And yet, the findings regarding the drivers of local performance and accountability remain inconclusive or even contradictory even when different scholars employ similar data.