Background

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) collaborated under the knowledge partnership agreement in March 2022 for the preparation of the third edition of the World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI).

The SNG-WOFI was a joint endeavor led by the OECD and United Cities and Local Governments(UCLG), represented in Asia by UCLG ASPAC and is being supported by a range of other institutions and networks, including ADB’s Governance Thematic Group. The goal of the SNG-WOFI was to increase knowledge and promote dialogue on multi-level governance and subnational finance around the world, by collecting and analyzing standardized quantitative data and qualitative information. It also helped monitor the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global development agendas, such as the Addis-Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework or the New Urban Agenda.

After two previous editions, in 2016 and 2019 respectively, the SNG-WOFI became the largest international knowledge repository on SNG structure and finance ever produced. It provided the systematized information on decentralization processes, subnational reforms, SNGs’ responsibilities and authorities, and fiscal rules around the world, and covers dozens of indicators on subnational expenditure, investment, revenue, and debt. The third edition (2022) of the SNG-WOFI included data from 135 countries, covering almost 90% of the world surface area, 93% of the world population and 94% of global GDP. It included several developing member countries of ADB, except for the countries in Pacific and some countries in Asia (due to the lack of availability of data).

This webinar shared findings of the 2022 SNG-WOFI, and discussed challenges and opportunities of fiscal decentralization, and financing of SDGs as well as the implications of the status of finance and investment on public service delivery in Asia.