About: Delegation theory

Delegation theory in its broadest sense is the process by which an authority shifts some of its responsibilities onto another entity with the view of achieving the best performance in terms of its stated aims and purposes. It is very common for government agencies to delegate authority to private companies with the necessary expertise in the chosen field. More specifically, it is regarded as a tool for strengthening government accountability to private entities such as banks and other large stake holders in the economy. These entities are conceived as independent authorities who take a longer term view of policy decisions, thus negating the pressures that elections put on governments to focus on the short term. In theory this leads to better policy decisions. In practice however this may n