2013-09 Local government performance in rural Poland

In this paper, we use unique survey data to analyze the link between local government characteristics and performance in another post-socialist case: Poland. We describe the extent to which local governments vary in key characteristics and outcomes after decentralization and analyze the link between these. In doing so, we contribute to both theoretical and empirical work on the relationship of local government characteristics and inherited conditions to performance, and to policy debates about improving outcomes.