REINVENTING LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE: FURTHER DISSECTING THE ROLE OF SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS AND SOCIAL MOBILIZATION POLICY

Previous studies on performance improvement of local government (LG) are hardly conclusive. Using four-year data, this article examines the linkages of socioeconomic factors and mobilization policy with LG performance... [ view full abstract ]

Previous studies on performance improvement of local government (LG) are hardly conclusive. Using four-year data, this article examines the linkages of socioeconomic factors and mobilization policy with LG performance management in Nepal. Nepal adopted mobilization policy in selected LGs to empower communities for their effective participation. Results show that adult female literacy and LG size in terms of population and area significantly enhance LG performance management while poverty has distinct negative influence. More importantly, mobilizing communities for at least five years significantly contributes to improve the performance of LGs, particularly in participatory planning and budgeting, fiscal discipline, and administrative management. This indicates that improvement in socioeconomic structures triggered by mobilizing communities within participatory institutions may increase LG performance.