Book review: decentralization and popular democracy: governance from below in Bolivia by Jean-Paul Faguet

Winner of the UK Political Studies Association W.J.M Mackenzie Book Prize 2013, Jean-Paul Faguet’s Decentralization and Popular Democracy looks at how decentralization in Bolivia has improved public services and made government more accountable. Faguet combines broad econometric data with deep qualitative evidence to investigate the social underpinnings of governance, and aims to offer an evaluation of the potential benefits of decentralization and recommendations for structuring successful reform. Juan Pablo Ferrero especially recommends this book to decentralization sceptics.