In Iraq in 2018, we delivered workshops in two provinces and wrote a report on Promoting Investment in Anbar and Basrah Provinces in anticipation of decentralization of regulatory authorities from Baghdad. We concluded that provincial authorities do not have the legal authorities or institutional capacities to deliver high-quality regulatory services to investors. There is a real risk that decentralization will simply mean transferring inefficiency, anti-market policies, and corruption from Baghdad to the provinces.
Iraq, DfID, 2018.
