Authoritarianism and educational system reforms by the World Bank in LMICs

Hossain, Mobarak ORCID: 0000-0002-1042-7388 (2025) Authoritarianism and educational system reforms by the World Bank in LMICs. American Journal of Education. ISSN 0195-6744 (In Press)

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Abstract

This study investigates the link between the degree of authoritarianism and the promotion of decentralization reforms in educational systems by the World Bank (WB) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Over recent decades, the WB has advocated for decentralization to enhance service delivery by transferring responsibilities to local entities. Rigidly centralized institutions, commonly found in authoritarian countries, are seen as obstacles to achieving improved educational outcomes. Using country-level original panel data from 1965 to 2019 across 99 LMICs, the study demonstrates a significant association between higher levels of authoritarianism and the WB’s promotion of decentralization reforms. This suggests that the WB is more likely to target authoritarian regimes for these reforms, which exhibit greater centralization in the education sector. The results remain robust to various specification tests, shedding light on how political regimes can influence the WB’s efforts as an international organization to reform social sectors like education.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 Chicago University Press
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	J Political Science L Education
Date Deposited:	14 Jul 2025 16:18
Last Modified:	14 Jul 2025 16:18
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/128817

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