Fiscal Decentralization and Citizen’s Satisfaction from Local Public Service Delivery in Pakistan

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of local governments in Pakistan through citizen’s satisfaction with local public service delivery in the context of the 2001 devolution plan. The devolution policy variable is found to be statistically significant, indicating that people’s satisfaction level declined significantly when the devolution plan was rolled back. The impact of demographic and socio-economic variables on citizen satisfaction with local government is also found to be statistically significant in a majority of cases. Results indicate that people living in urban city districts are comparatively more satisfied than inhabitants of rural areas. Heterogeneity in satisfaction is found across different provinces, suggesting the need for institutional and political reforms. Moreover, people from a lower social status are more satisfied, indicating that the devolution process is in the right direction as far as reduction of income disparities is concerned. © Authors