Kenneth Davey

Kenneth Davey OBE, Emeritus Professor, International Development Department, School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham (UK) and former Senior Adviser to the Local Government and Public Service reform Initiative of the Open Society Foundation (Hungary).
Kenneth Davey studied History at Oxford, graduating with an MA (Oxon). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and was recently awarded the OBE. He was also awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.

Kenneth Davey is currently leading the group of European experts examining the effects of the financial crisis at local level. This work is being carried out by the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR) at the Council of Europe (Strasbourg), in co-operation with the Open Society Foundation. The group's experts include Paul Bernd Spahn, Gabor Peteri

In his years as a specialist in local government, notably local finance, he has worked for HM Overseas Civil Service, the World Bank, DfID, UNCHS, Council of Europe and EU.

His work in recent years has focused particularly on assistance to local government reform in Central and Eastern Europe, and he was director of research into the institutional framework of urban management.

Between 1972-2008, he carried out consultancies on intergovernmental fiscal relations and public administration reform for the Council of Europe, DfID, EU, UNCHS, UNDP, World Bank and other agencies in Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzogovina, Brazil, China, Croatia, Czech Republic,Georgia, Hungary India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, FYROMacedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey and Uganda.

From 1969–2000, he taught at the School of Public Policy at the University of Birmingham (UK). His posts included Professor of Development Administration(1981–2000), Director, Institute of Local Government Studies(1983–88) and Head of School (1988–89).

As editor:

• The Impact of the Economic Downturn on Local Government in Europe, report to the Council of Europe Inter-ministerial Conference at Utrecht, 2009 and Strasbourg, 2010
• Investing in Regional Development: Policies and Practices in EU Candidate Countries (Open Society Institute, 2003)
• Fiscal Autonomy and Efficiency: Reforms in the Former Soviet Union (Open Society Institute, 2002)
• Balancing National and Local Responsibilities: Education Management and Finance in Four Central European Countries (Open Society Institute, 2002)
• Local Government Finances: Options for Reform (Local Government Know-How Programme 1998), with Gabor Peteri

As author:

• Urban Management: the Challenge of Growth (Avebury 1997)
• Elements of Urban Management (World Bank, 1993)
• Readings and Case Studies in Urban Finance (UN Centre for Human Settlements - 1988)
• Financing Regional Government (John Wiley, 1983)
• (Participation and Basic Needs (I.L.O. 1978), with D M E Curtis, A Hughes and A W Shepherd
• Taxing a Peasant Society (Charles Knight, 1974)