Diana Conyers

Future directions in development studies: The case of decentralization

Abstract The study of decentralization is used as a case study to illustrate three current conceptual and operational problems in development studies as a whole: the use of language; the relationship between theory and practice; and the legitimacy of “development” as a separate field of study. The conclusion is that future studies of decentralization — and possibly other dimensions of development studies — should include detailed empirical studies, adopt a “contingency” approach to policy evaluation and utilize “developmentalist” approaches in both the so-called developed and developing nations.