Toward a Federal Constitution in Nepal: What is the Future Role and Structure of Local Governments?

Will Nepal's ongoing restructuring of the government improve the performance of the public sector? The signs are not positive. The process of restructuring is driven by ideological and perceived political opportunity, rather than by an analysis of the public services that the government provides to society. In this short Policy Brief, we raise the concern that the lack of emphasis placed on the local government level in the restructuring of the public sector—and the possibility that the district level might disappear in a future federal structure—is likely to worsen the already poor performance of Nepal’s public sector in terms of providing responsive, effective, and accountable public services.

---

Usage and reprints: Most publications may be downloaded free of charge from the web site and may be used and copies made for research, academic, policy or other non-commercial purposes. Proper attribution is required. Posting UI research papers on other websites is permitted subject to prior approval from the Urban Institute—contact publicaffairs@urban.org.

If you are unable to access or print the PDF document please contact us or call the Publications Office at (202) 261-5687.

Disclaimer: The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Copyright of the written materials contained within the Urban Institute website is owned or controlled by the Urban Institute.