Transparency describes the openness of institutions—the degree to which outsiders such as citizens or stockholders can monitor and evaluate the actions of insiders, such as government officials or corporate managers. Achieving the appropriate transparency balance is a vital part of confronting both the familiar problems of development and new challenges of globalization, from the local level to the global level of governance. IPD’s Transparency Task Force brings together scholars and activists from all regions who are working to improve global understanding of what transparency can accomplish and how it can be increased.

Decentralization is on the policy agenda all over the world. Not only is it squarely in the forefront of the development debate throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia, but it is also at the center of public policy-making in Europe and North America under the guises of subsidiarity, devolution, and federalism. Despite the importance of decentralization, however, academic literature still falls short of what is necessary to guide better policy thinking and practice. The Decentralization Task Force builds bridges between analysis and practice, while highlighting deficiencies at both ends.

Privatization of large state-owned enterprises was a radical and new policy implemented late last century. While right wing governments engaged in privatization to minimize the size of government, left wing governments—disappointed with the inefficiencies of large state-owned firms—implemented privatization policies in order to generate greater revenues and competition. These policies generated huge controversies. The Privatization Task Force convenes some of the best experts in the world to debate and write on the privatization programs of Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. It analyzes successes and failures, reasons for each, and presents alternative ideas and frameworks for countries that are formulating privatization policy and programs.