The Better Cities Better World is a Handbook for Local Government Self-Assessment which constitutes a follow-up product to Municipal Finances, A Handbook for Local Government published in 2014.

The Municipal Finance Handbook set the stage for the fundamentals of sound local governments finances: : https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/18725

The Handbook for Local Government Self-Assessment further aims to provide a bottom line framework for diagnosis and self-assessment with a strong link to action and policy reform. It outlines a grid for analysis, a framework for policy dialogue, and a common language which, helps connect the dots between investments programming (urban audit/self-assessment) and financing (municipal finances self-assessment).


The volume offers a bit of everything for everyone. City leaders and policy makers will find the sections on objectives and content instructive and informative because each issue is placed in its context. Municipal staff in charge of day-today management will find that the sections on tasks and the detailed step-by step walk through the process give them the pragmatic know-how they need. Cities’ partners—such as bilateral and multilateral agencies, banks and funds, utility companies, and private operators—will be attracted by the purposefulness and clarity of these tools, their impact on local government capacity and performance building, and how they improve the implementation of transformative actions for policy change. 

The Handbook uses references to PEFA and PEFA inspired approaches.