Conclusion: a fine balance

We conclude our book with a summary of our arguments, a discussion of the implications of our results, and some ideas for future research. We emphasize that the benefits of decentralizing the state are contingent on the structure of the other primary conduit of information and influence across tiers – the political party. The presence of integrated parties in a country can serve to tie national, regional, and local levels of the state together in beneficial ways. The key is to strike a fine balance between decentralization and integration. Striking this balance implicates all aspects of state and party design, from the vertical and horizontal fiscal systems to administrative structures, from electoral institutions to policy responsibilities. The key question to be asked is how institutional structures, both of the state and parties, incentivize local, regional, and national officials to provide public goods and to govern well.