Fiscal capacity of Union Parishads in local development programs : a case study of Bakshiganj Upazila of Jamalpur district in Bangladesh | |
| Author | Kaysar, Mamun Bin |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.RD-03-08 |
| Subject(s) | Decentralization in government--Bangladesh Local government--Bangladesh |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The research deals with the assessment of fiscal capacity of Union Parishad (UP) in Bangladesh. The main objectives of the research were to examine the status of fiscal decentralization in Bangladesh; to examine type, source, amount and channel of local revenue of the UPs utilized on local development programs; to assess fiscal capacity level of the UPs; to identify factors affecting fiscal capacity of the UPs; to identify problems, constraints and potentials of fiscal capacity of the UPs and to suggest recommendations to strengthen the fiscal capacity of them. The research was conducted in the six unions of Bakshiganj Upazila of Jamalpur district in Bangladesh to assess the level of fiscal capacity of UP members. Two types of unions were selected on the basis of revenue generation. Purposive and simple random samplings were followed to select the study area and the respondents respectively. A questionnaire survey was conducted as a prime method for primary data collection. The research was applied both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The research findings showed that fiscal capacity of the UPs in this area was influenced by five key factors comprised of income generating activities, utilization of resources, dependency on external grant, savings and autonomy of the UP bodies. For Higher revenue Generation (HRG) Unions, the influential factors were savings and income generating activities whereas for Lower revenue Generation (LRG) Unions, four influential factors comprising of taxpayer's ability to pay, efficiency of tax collectors, income generating activities and autonomy of the UPs affected their fiscal capacity. Key problems and constraints of the fiscal capacity found in this research were low level of education of UP members, lack of knowledge and skill training in fiscal management, lack of people's awareness in tax payment, nepotism in tax collection, lack of community's support on resource mobilization, dependency on external aid, inadequate/ shortage of fund, poor resource generation, lack of transparency in administration ofUPs, low savings, low income generation, lack of fiscal training, unskilled manpower involved in fiscal activities, misutilization of resources and poor fiscal management for both types of unions. In specific, the problems faced for the HRG Unions were low savings, nepotism in tax collection, low income generation, lack of transparency in administration of UPs, dependency on external grant, interference of local MP, dominant of local leaders and lack of knowledge and training and the LRG Unions were shortage of fund, misutilization of local resources, unskilled manpower involved in fiscal activities, lack of community's support on resource mobilization and lack of people's awareness to pay tax. Certain recommendations were given in this research to improve performance of the UPs and to strengthen the fiscal capacity of the UPs. These were focused on internal resource generation, provision of skilled manpower, incentives for taxpayer, utilization of local resources using information technology, comprehensive skill development and capacity building program, ensuring transparency and accountability of UP members, increasing local taxable items, arranging loans for the UPs, appointment of government tax collectors, reducing excessive control and ensuring the autonomy and restructuring the staffing pattern of the UPs. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Soparth Pongquan |
| Examination Committee(s) | Routray, Jayant K.;Wickramanayake, B. W.E. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | His Majesty the King of Thailand |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003 |