Blending Top-Down Federalism with Bottom-Up Engagement to Reduce Inequality in Ethiopia

Donors increasingly fund interventions to counteract inequality in developing countries, where they fear it can foment instability and undermine nation-building efforts. To succeed, aid relies on the principle of upward accountability to donors. But federalism shifts the accountability of subnational officials downward to regional and local voters. What happens when aid agencies fund anti-inequality programs in federal countries? Does federalism undermine aid? Does aid undermine federalism? Or can the political and fiscal relations that define a federal system resolve the contradiction internally? This study explores this paradox via the Promotion of Basic Services program in Ethiopia, the largest donor-financed investment program in the world. Using an original panel database comprising the universe of Ethiopian woredas (districts), the study finds that horizontal (geographic) inequality decreased substantially. Donor-financed block grants to woredas increased the availability of primary education and health care services in the bottom 20 percent of woredas. Weaker evidence from household surveys suggests that vertical inequality across wealth groups (within woredas) also declined, implying that individuals from the poorest households benefit disproportionately from increasing access to and utilization of such services. The evidence suggests that by combining strong upward accountability over public investment with extensive citizen engagement on local issues, Ethiopia’s federal system resolves the instrumental dissonance posed by aid-funded programs to combat inequality in a federation.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Khan, Qaiser, Faguet, Jean-Paul, Ambel, Alemayehu
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2015-12
Subjects:	SANITATION, PUBLIC OFFICIALS, BASIC SERVICES, ECONOMIC GROWTH, CONTRACEPTION, SKILLED HEALTH PERSONNEL, POLITICS, CIVIL SERVANTS, INFORMATION SYSTEM, ANTENATAL CARE, LAWS, GOVERNMENT, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, STRATEGIES, POLITICIANS, ETHNIC GROUPS, SERVICES, FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, PUBLIC SERVICES, HEALTH CARE, GENDER PARITY, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, SOCIETAL GOALS, NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, POLITICAL LEADERSHIP, DEVELOPMENT GOALS, SECONDARY ENROLMENT, CORRUPTION, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, NATIONAL LEVEL, RURAL POPULATION, PUBLIC HEALTH, TELEVISION, KNOWLEDGE, MILITARY REGIME, PUBLIC POLICY, LABOR MARKET, SOCIAL IMPACT, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, COLLUSION, GRASS-ROOTS, INCOME INEQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, DEMOCRACY, CITIZEN, HEALTH CARE SERVICES, VIOLENCE, MODERNIZATION, ORGANIZATIONS, CHRONIC POVERTY, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, SERVICE PROVISION, MORTALITY RATE, CULTURAL CHANGE, PRIMARY SCHOOL, GRASS- ROOTS, SERVICE DELIVERY, PLACE OF RESIDENCE, STATE UNIVERSITY, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, MORTALITY, RADIO, MODERN CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS, RESPECT, PROGRESS, GENDER PARITY INDEX, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, INITIATIVES, HUMAN CAPITAL, INTEGRITY, INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION, MOTHER TONGUES, RURAL COMMUNITIES, ACCOUNTABILITY, SOCIAL SECTOR, POLICIES, TRANSPARENCY, DISCRETION, MODERN CONTRACEPTIVE USE, MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POLICY MAKERS, BANK, NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, COLLAPSE, PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE, BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, ANTI-CORRUPTION, URBAN AREAS, SKILLED BIRTH ATTENDANTS, CONTRACEPTIVE ACCEPTANCE, SKILLED BIRTH ATTENDANCE, GRAFT, POLITICAL PARTY, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, SERVICE QUALITY, SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS, MOTHER, POLICY, CITIZENS, POLITICAL PARTIES, CONTRACEPTIVE USE, DEMOCRACIES, CHILD MORTALITY, GOVERNANCE, HUMAN RIGHTS, RECIPIENT COUNTRIES, MATERNAL HEALTH, ETHICS, CITIZENSHIP, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES, WARS, COMPLAINTS, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, WAR, MODERN CONTRACEPTION, NATURAL RESOURCE, ORGANIZATION, PATRONAGE, CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS, RURAL AREAS, NUMBER OF CHILDREN, RULING PARTY, REPRESSION, BASIC SERVICE, HUMAN WELFARE, SOCIAL COHESION, POPULATION, LAW, STUDENTS, PRACTITIONERS, LEADERSHIP, MARRIED WOMEN, POLICY RESEARCH, STRATEGY, PRIMARY EDUCATION, WOMEN, PUBLIC SERVICE, GOVERNMENTS, MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, POLITICAL LEADERS, HEALTH SERVICES, OFFICIAL POLICY, SERVICE, POLITICAL INSTABILITY, RURAL WELFARE, SKILLED ATTENDANTS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, SCHOOL AGE, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/12/25666569/blending-top-down-federalism-bottom-up-engagement-reduce-inequality-ethiopia https://hdl.handle.net/10986/23475
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