Local Government Official Priorities and Responsiveness

By Yale-LSE-GovLab

Overview

In theory, decentralized political systems can better represent the views and needs of local constituents as local governments have more information on citizen preferences relative to higher-tier governments. Geographic proximity may also help citizens better hold their representatives accountable. In this brief, we ask how policy goals of elected politicians and appointed officials compare with citizen priorities. We use data from a national survey of local government officials (LPGS-3) conducted by our research team in March-April 2021 and a citizen survey (SNP) conducted by Kathmandu University, Interdisciplinary Analysts and Asia Foundation in Feb-March 2020.1

Key Insights

• Relative to federal and provincial representatives, citizens believe that local officials are more attentive and increasingly responsive to their needs.
• Comparing priorities across citizens and local officials yields two findings:
  • Citizens prioritize infrastructure and education, less so agriculture.
  • Both elected and appointed officials prioritize infrastructure, but only elected officials highly prioritize education.
• Local officials’ priorities reflect objective indicators of community need. For example, policymakers in remote areas prioritize roads, while those in low literacy areas prioritize education.