Decentralization reforms in Mozambique – the role of institutions in the definition of results

On 11 November 2020, Salvador Forquilha, Director and Senior researcher at IESE, will discuss his research on the institutional aspects constraining the results of the recent decentralization reforms in the country.

The presentation is based on the WIDER Working Paper 2020/132 'Decentralization reforms in Mozambique: The role of institutions in the definition of results' elaborated as part of the Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic (MID) initiative in the context of the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme. The paper forms part of the draft report of the MID study.

The MID study is part of the  international research programme Economic Development and Institutions (EDI) funded by UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and is managed through a partnership with multiple organisations including Oxford Policy Management (OPM), Paris School of Economics, Centre de Recherche en Économie de Développement (CRED), the University of Namur, and Aide á la Décision Économique (ADE).

To join to our seminar and the discussion, register here.The presentation will be in Portuguese.

About the research

Different research developed in recent years shows that, as is the case in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of the decentralization reforms on the promotion of local development and the strengthening of democracy in Mozambique is modest.

The author of this working paper seeks to explain this modest impact by analyzing how different aspects of the institutions affect the results of the recent reforms. The main argument in the article underlines the idea according to which the results of the decentralization reforms in Mozambique are constrained by the nature and by the operation mechanisms of the political system. Of these institutional factors/constraints, state capacity and independence from private interests, particularly political groups, stand out in the three reforms analysed throughout this article.

About the MID Seminar Series

The MID Seminar Series offers a forum for the presentation and in-depth discussion of thematic studies and results developed as part of the Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic (MID) study. Elaborated by key specialists in their fields, the topics covered by the studies include decentralization, education, natural resources, and the rule of law in Mozambique.