Understanding decentralization: deconcentration and devolution processes in the French and Italian cultural sectors
International Journal of Public Sector Management
ISSN: 0951-3558
Article publication date: 7 April 2020
Issue publication date: 24 April 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Decentralization is a widespread and international phenomenon in public administration. Despite the interest of public management scholars, an in-depth analysis of the interrelationship between two of its forms – deconcentration and devolution – and its impact on policy and management capacities at the local level is seldom investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
This article addresses this gap by examining the implementation of deconcentration and devolution processes in France and Italy in the cultural field, combining the analysis of national reform processes with in-depth analyses of two regional cases. The research is the result of document analysis, participatory observation and semi-structured interviews.
Findings
The article reconstructs the impacts of devolution and deconcentration processes on the emergence of policy and management capacity in two regions (Rhone-Alpes and Piedmont) in the cultural sector. The article shows that decentralization in the cultural sector in France and Italy is the result of different combinations of devolution and deconcentration processes, that the two processes mutually affect their effectiveness, and that this effectiveness is deeply linked to the previous policy and management capacity of the central state in a specific field/country.
Originality/value
The article investigates decentralization as a result of the combination of deconcentration and devolution in comparative terms and in a specific sector of implementation, highlighting the usefulness of this approach also for other sectors/countries
Keywords
Citation
Santagati, M.E., Bonini Baraldi, S. and Zan, L. (2020), "Understanding decentralization: deconcentration and devolution processes in the French and Italian cultural sectors", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 435-460. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-02-2019-0050
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited