Local Government Budgetary Autonomy

The empirical research that has shaped this book was drawn from a combined literature stream comprising political psychology, applied economics, and public management issues such as decentralization, local government finance, local governance, and organization and budget theories.

The principal premise of this monograph is that a greater autonomy of the local state helps improve the effectiveness of decentralization and good local governance. Bearing in mind the broader challenge of problems with decentralization in Bangladesh, the main research concern here is the exploration of nature, cause, and consequences of a specific deep-rooted problem – the dimensions of influence and magnitude of autonomy in budgeting decisions of local government Union Councils in Bangladesh.

The study explores the de facto and de jure issues that affect the autonomy of local government Union Councils of Bangladesh in their budgeting decision-making process, leading to poor or good local governance. The study looks at how and to what extent the budgetary autonomy of local government Union Councils is affected. It also explores the impact of this autonomy on local governance.

Mohammad Rafiqul Islam Talukdar holds a PhD in Leadership, Management, and Budgetary Autonomy of Local Government from the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Bangkok. Previously he received a Master’s Degree in Development Management focusing on Development and Strategic Management, Strategic HRM, and Leadership and Strategic Negotiation from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Makati City, Manila, in addition to his Dhaka University Master’s Degree in Public Administration. He is a Professor of Leadership and Strategic Management at the Faculty of Business Administration, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB), Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh.

International Education Summit and Awards, 2020 Bangkok, selected the author as an Outstanding Trained Graduate Teacher for his significant contributions in teaching, research, and curriculum development. His research interest areas include political economy, anti-corruption, civic education, decentralization and governance, sustainable development, gender-responsive budgeting, performance management, strategic and change management, and leadership and entrepreneurship development. He has authored three books, four internationally published book chapters, twenty scholarly journal articles, two working papers, and 100 op-ed pieces. He undertook several assignments in Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.