ABSTRACT
Subnational governments (SNGs) in Mongolia comprise separate executive and elected bodies (hurals), arrayed on two tiers. The Cabinet Secretariat supervises the upper tier (aimags), which in turn has considerable delegated supervision authority over the lower tier (soums). There is no central ministry with overall responsibility for SNGs and center–local relations. Since 2012 there has been some momentum toward greater decentralization, but SNG functions are still modest, and most of these are only delegated. This, together with the very centralized budget process, leaves little scope for local spending discretion and tailoring public services to local needs, and therefore greatly limits the role that SNGs can play in localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
