Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/243414 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2021/88
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
In this paper, we estimate the efficiency of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana, and investigate the impact of fiscal decentralization on the efficiency of local public goods and services delivery by MMDAs. Using data from composite budgets of all 216 MMDAs, we employ both nonparametric and parametric frontier methods to carry out the study. The results with regard to our two indicators of fiscal decentralization indicate that fiscal autonomy proxied by MMDAs' internally generated funds as a share of their total revenue has a positive influence on the efficiency of MMDAs whilst vertical imbalance-a high share of central government grants in MMDAs' total expenditure-does not improve the delivery of local goods and services by MMDAs in Ghana. The findings indicate a clear signal to policy managers to prioritize support to MMDAs in the mobilization of internally generated revenue.
Subjects: 
fiscal decentralization
efficiency
local government
frontier methods
Ghana
JEL: 
H71
H72
H75
H77
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9267-028-3
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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