ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the definition and scope of functional assignment, and where functional assignment connects with other essential elements of decentralization reforms. There are several ways in which the powers and functions of government are constructed, and we position our core concern of intergovernmental division of powers against the backdrop of the horizontal separation of powers common to democratic states. Understanding the horizontal division can be helpful in appreciating the scope for vertical functional assignment directed to subnational levels of government. The chapter distinguishes the way functional assignment should be viewed with respect to the unitary and federal state structures, in their 'ideal types', considerably different in some respects. It discusses differences and commonalities of functional assignment in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD countries, and investigates the extent to which functional assignment features in international development cooperation which often has strongly influenced the design and the implementation of decentralization reforms in developing and emerging countries.
