Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
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<strong>Public</strong> <strong>Financial</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>PRSP</strong> Implementation in Malawi<br />
3 Main Research Question, Research Design, and<br />
Methodology<br />
This chapter presents the main research question and gives a brief overview<br />
of the research design chosen <strong>for</strong> this study. It concludes with an overview of<br />
the structure <strong>for</strong> the remainder of this report.<br />
3.1 Main research question<br />
The research focus of this study is on the PFM system in a in many ways<br />
typical Sub-Saharan-African country, paying heed to the enormous relevance<br />
of a well functioning PFM system <strong>for</strong> implementing poverty reduction strategies<br />
and <strong>for</strong> linking and integrating <strong>PRSP</strong> and decentralisation. The public<br />
budget is the single most important tool <strong>for</strong> operationalising and implementing<br />
policies based on national strategic development plans. At the same time,<br />
if a country pursues a decentralisation policy, this means that new levels of<br />
government are created or that existing sub-national levels of government are<br />
assigned additional powers, responsibilities and resources. This fundamental<br />
reorganisation of the state has far-reaching implications <strong>for</strong> the national PFM<br />
system, as its functions need to be reorganised in a way that allows <strong>for</strong> the<br />
successful integration or at least effective coordination of planning, budgeting<br />
and implementation processes across the various levels.<br />
Most research so far focuses on either <strong>PRSP</strong> and PFM at the central level 3 or<br />
on decentralisation and local planning separately without linking the various<br />
levels. Thus, this study extensively covers PFM at local level and examines<br />
how it is integrated into the national PFM system with regard to implementing<br />
national strategic priorities. For this purpose, it examines the links (existing<br />
and missing) and the incompatibilities between PFM at local and central<br />
government level. In order to study these complex relations the research team<br />
deemed a case study design as the most adequate approach. For a number of<br />
reasons (detailed in Chapter 4) Malawi has been identified as a typical showcase<br />
<strong>for</strong> a poor developing country in Sub-Saharan-Africa that pursues both<br />
the implementation of a national <strong>PRSP</strong> and an ambitious decentralisation<br />
agenda simultaneously.<br />
3 For recent studies on Malawi, see Rakner et al. (2004); IMF (2004a); IMF (2004b); South<br />
African <strong>Institut</strong>e of International Affairs (2004) and Durevall / Erlandsson (2005).<br />
German Development <strong>Institut</strong>e 41