Previous efforts at legal development have focused almost exclusively on state legal systems, many of which have shown little improvement over time. Recently, organizations engaged in legal development activities have begun to pay greater attention to the implications of local, informal, indigenous, religious, and village courts or tribunals, which often are more efficacious than state legal institutions, especially in rural communities. Legal pluralism is the term applied to these situations because these institutions exist alongside official state legal systems, usually in a complex or...

This book brings together public financial management and public sector reform experiences from eight countries in East Asia. It examines how reforms have been implemented in those countries and explores key lessons that can help reformers to further advance their endeavors.