The primary purpose of this edited collection is to evaluate critically the relationship between local government and national economic development. It focuses on how the relationship between local government and development is structured, and the specific institutional arrangements at national and subnational levels that might facilitate local government's assumption of the role of development agent. In light of the contradictory outcomes of development and implied experimentation with new modalities, post-development discourse provides a useful explanatory framework for the book. Schoburgh, Martin and Gatchair's central argument is that the pursuit of national developmental goals is given a sustainable foundation when development planning and strategies take into account elements that have the potential to determine the rate of social transformation. Their emphasis on localism establishes a clear link between local government and local economic development in the context of developing countries.

Introduction; Eris Schoburgh; John Martin; Sonia Gatchair1. Post-development Theory and the Local Developmental State; Eris Schoburgh2. Developmental Local Government: From Concept to Praxis; Eris Schoburgh; Bhaskar Chakrabarti3. The Evolving Roles and Relationships of Government in Local Economic and Sustainable Development: the case of the UK (and particularly England); Paul Hildreth4. Local Government and Economic Development in the Australian Federation: Dispersed Efforts in a Complex Geography; John Martin5. From National to Local Economic Development (LED): The South African Case; P S Reddy6. Nigerian Local Government System and Governance: Lessons, Prospects and challenges for Post 2015 Development Goals; Muhammad Kabir ISA7. Managing Development in Local Government: Frameworks and Strategies in Jamaica; Eris Schoburgh; Sonia Gatchair8. The Imperative of a Local Economic Development Approach in the Context of the Dutch Disease; Roger Hosein; Rebecca Gookool; Akeeta Ali9. The Making of Developmental Local Government in Belize; Zenaida Moya10. Informality and Developmental Local Government: What is at stake?; Eris Schoburgh11. From Developmental Local Government to Developmental Local Governance; Eris Schoburgh and John Martin12. Conclusion: Towards a Model of Developmental Local Governance; Eris Schoburgh; John Martin; Sonia Gatchair