Yet, both the approach and the results of decentralisation have varied widely
between countries. According to Smoke and Lewis (1996:1281), the limited
success is attributed to two factors. First, the decentralisation process has been
resisted or undermined by central government institutions fearful of losing power
and rationale. Second, many initiatives have been donor driven, over-ambitious,
and not taking into consideration the complex institutional realities that govern the
extent to which, and the pace at which, decentralisation can occur in a particular
country. Oates (1998) argues that the case for decentralisation has often been
made in a very general and uncritical way with little systematic empirical support.
Predictably, the argument for decentralisation has provoked response from some
observers who assert that the case for fiscal decentralisation is much-overstated
(Prud’homme, 1995).