FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION AND SATISFACTION FROM PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY IN PAKISTAN: A Comparative Assessment of Pre and Post 18th Amendment

Noman SAEED*, Minhaj Uddin SIDDIQUI* and Taskeen FATIMA**

The study utilising the Pakistan Social and Living Standard measurement (PSLM) Survey for the years 2008–09, 2014–15, and 2019–20 assesses satisfaction from the public service during pre and post 18^th amendment and concluded that the structure and effectiveness of local government matters for public service delivery. The Chi-Square results show statistically significant association of local government systems with the use of public service, satisfaction from public service and perception about the changes in public service delivery over time. The likelihood ratio validates the robustness of the association. The findings of the study concluded that the satisfaction from public service has declined over time, indicating that the local government system pre-18^th amendment was better in terms of service delivery. A province-wise comparison highlights that the local government system in Punjab and KPK is better than the systems in Sindh and Balochistan. The findings suggest that the devolution of authority following the 18th Amendment has not translated into improved public service delivery. In fact, in many areas, service quality and usage have declined, pointing to systemic inefficiencies in local governance structures post-decentralisation.