IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/egc/wpaper/825.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Decentralization in Argentina

Author

Listed:
  • Nadir Habibi
  • Cindy Huang
  • Diego Miranda
  • Victoria Murillo
  • Gustav Ranis

    (Economic Growth Center, Yale University)

  • Mainak Sarkar
  • Frances Stewart

Abstract

Human development, reflected in the status of people's levels of health and education, affects future growth and, in turn, is affected by decentralization. Unlike earlier exclusive emphasis on budgetary issues, this study focuses on the impact of fiscal decentralization on the level of human development. It traces the origin and recent development of revenue-sharing arrangements across Argentina's provinces over time (1970-94). The study regresses two indicators of health and educational status on two decentralization measures. It highlights the link between decentralization and human development outcomes and suggests that devolutionary decentralization has a positive influence on the effectiveness of public policy directed towards an improvement in the level of human development. Decentralization is shown to reduce intra- regional disparities and increase levels of human development. While the paper also recognizes problems associated with decentralization, including addressing inter-regional disparities, the positive impact of decentralization schemes on human development is seen to be of relevance in evaluating the Argentine co-participation regime which is currently under negotiation.

Suggested Citation

  • Nadir Habibi & Cindy Huang & Diego Miranda & Victoria Murillo & Gustav Ranis & Mainak Sarkar & Frances Stewart, 2001. "Decentralization in Argentina," Working Papers 825, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    • Handle: RePEc:egc:wpaper:825
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp825.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dillinger,William R. & Webb,Steven Benjamin, 1999. "Fiscal management in federal democracies : Argentina and Brazil," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2121, The World Bank.
    2. William Dillinger & Steven B. Webb, 1999. "Fiscal management in federal democracies: Argentina and Brazil," Económica, Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 0(3), pages 423-483.
    3. Ranis, Gustav & Stewart, Frances & Ramirez, Alejandro, 2000. "Economic Growth and Human Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 197-219, February.
    4. Fox, Jonathan A & Aranda, Josefina, 1996. "Decentralization and Rural Development in Mexico: Community Participation in Oaxaca's Municipal Funds Program," Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, Working Paper Series qt5jk3b9gt, Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, UC Santa Cruz.
    5. Xie, Danyang & Zou, Heng-fu & Davoodi, Hamid, 1999. "Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth in the United States," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 228-239, March.
    6. Davoodi, Hamid & Zou, Heng-fu, 1998. "Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Study," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 244-257, March.
    7. William Dillinger & Steven B. Webb, 1999. "Fiscal management in federal democracies: Argentina and Brazil," Económica, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 0(3), pages 423-483.
    8. Zhang, Tao & Zou, Heng-fu, 1998. "Fiscal decentralization, public spending, and economic growth in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 221-240, February.
    9. Pablo Sanguinetti, 1994. "Intergovernmental transfers and public sector expenditures: a game-theoretic approach," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 21(2 Year 19), pages 179-212, December.
    10. Porto, Alberto & Sanguinetti, Pablo, 1993. "Descentralización fiscal en América Latina: el caso argentino," Series Históricas 9486, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    11. Wallace, T D & Hussain, Ashiq, 1969. "The Use of Error Components Models in Combining Cross Section with Time Series Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 37(1), pages 55-72, January.
    12. Weingast, Barry R, 1995. "The Economic Role of Political Institutions: Market-Preserving Federalism and Economic Development," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 1-31, April.
    13. Gouveia, Miguel & Masia, Neal A, 1998. "Does the Median Voter Model Explain the Size of Government?: Evidence from the States," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 97(1-2), pages 159-177, October.
    14. Jones, Mark P. & Sanguinetti, Pablo & Tommasi, Mariano, 2000. "Politics, institutions, and fiscal performance in a federal system: an analysis of the Argentine provinces," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 305-333, April.
    15. Joel Samoff, 1990. "Decentralization: The Politics of Interventionism," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 513-530, July.
    16. Bertranou, Fabio, 1993. "Descentralización fiscal en Argentina desde una perspectiva local: el caso de la provincia de Mendoza," Series Históricas 9482, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. RAUF Abdur & KHAN Amara Akram & ALI Sher & KHAN Ghulam Yahya & AHMAD Dilshad & ANWAR Numera, 2017. "Fiscal Decentralization And Delivery Of Public Services: Evidence From Education Sector In Pakistan," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 12(1), pages 174-184, April.
    2. Dolores Jiménez‐Rubio & Peter C. Smith & Eddy Van Doorslaer, 2008. "Equity in health and health care in a decentralised context: evidence from Canada," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(3), pages 377-392, March.
    3. María Laura Alzúa & Leonardo Gasparini & Francisco Haimovich, 2015. "Education reform and labor market outcomes: The case of Argentina’s Ley Federal de Educación," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 18, pages 21-44, May.
    4. Faguet, Jean-Paul & Shami, Mahvish, 2008. "Fiscal policy and spatial inequality in Latin America and beyond," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 27162, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Dolores Jimenez & Peter C Smith, "undated". "Decentralisation of health care and its impact on health outcomes," Discussion Papers 05/10, Department of Economics, University of York.
    6. Paula Salinas & Albert Solé-Ollé, 2009. "Evaluating the effects of decentralization on educational outcomes in Spain," Working Papers 2009/10, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    7. Hai Zhong, 2010. "The impact of decentralization of health care administration on equity in health and health care in Canada," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 219-237, September.
    8. David Cantarero Prieto & Marta Pascual Saez, "undated". "Decentralisation and health care outcomes: An empirical analysis within the European Union," Studies on the Spanish Economy 220, FEDEA.
    9. Youngju Kang & Wonhyuk Cho & Kwangho Jung, 2012. "Does Decentralization Matter in Health Outcomes? Evidence from 22 OECD Unbalanced Panel Data for 1995–2005," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 1-32, April.
    10. Montero-Granados, Roberto & de Dios Jiménez, Juan & Martín, José, 2007. "Decentralisation and convergence in health among the provinces of Spain (1980-2001)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(6), pages 1253-1264, March.
    11. repec:ces:ifodic:v:2:y:2004:i:1:p:14567690 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Anwar Shah & Theresa Thompson & Heng-fu Zou, 2004. "Decentralising the public sector: The Impact of Decentralisation on Service Delivery, Corruption, Fiscal Management and Growth in Developing and Emerging Market Economies: A Synthesis of Empirical Evi," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 2(01), pages 10-14, October.
    13. Sajjad Ali Khan, 2013. "Decentralization and Poverty Reduction: A Theoretical Framework for Exploring the Linkages," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 145-172, August.
    14. Paula Salinas, 2014. "The effect of decentralization on educational outcomes: real autonomy matters!," Working Papers 2014/25, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    15. Anwar Shah & Theresa Thompson & Heng-fu Zou, 2004. "Decentralising the public sector: The Impact of Decentralisation on Service Delivery, Corruption, Fiscal Management and Growth in Developing and Emerging Market Economies: A Synthesis of Empirical Evi," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 2(1), pages 10-14, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Weingast, Barry R., 2009. "Second generation fiscal federalism: The implications of fiscal incentives," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 279-293, May.
    2. Francesca Fornasari & Steven B. Webb & Heng-fu Zou, 2000. "The Macroeconomic Impact of Decentralized Spending and Deficits: International Evidence," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 1(2), pages 403-433, November.
    3. Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & McNab, Robert M., 2003. "Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 1597-1616, September.
    4. Umaima Arif & Eatzaz Ahmad, 2018. "A Framework For Analyzing The Impact Of Fiscal Decentralization On Macroeconomic Performance, Governance And Economic Growth," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 65(01), pages 3-39, May.
    5. Thushyanthan Baskaran & Lars P. Feld & Jan Schnellenbach, 2016. "Fiscal Federalism, Decentralization, And Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(3), pages 1445-1463, July.
    6. Akalbeo, Benard & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & Yedgenov, Bauyrzhan, 2023. "Fiscal decentralization and structural versus cyclical unemployment levels," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    7. Lars P. Feld & Gebhard Kirchgässner & Christoph A. Schaltegger, 2004. "Fiscal Federalism and Economic Performance: Evidence from Swiss Cantons," Marburg Working Papers on Economics 200420, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    8. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Roberto Ezcurra, 2010. "Does decentralization matter for regional disparities? A cross-country analysis," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(5), pages 619-644, September.
    9. Mark P. Jones & Osvaldo Meloni & Mariano Tommasi, 2012. "Voters as Fiscal Liberals: Incentives and Accountability in Federal Systems," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 135-156, July.
    10. Tristan Canare, 2022. "Decentralization and welfare: Evidence from a panel of countries," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(3), pages 767-796, September.
    11. Wempi Saputra, 2010. "The Choice of Tax Bases under Fiscal Federalism and the Unitary System," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 30(1), pages 219-233.
    12. Wildasin, David E., 2004. "The Institutions of Federalism: Toward an Analytical Framework," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 57(2), pages 247-272, June.
    13. Oto-Peralías, Daniel & Romero-Ávila, Diego & Usabiaga, Carlos, 2013. "Does fiscal decentralization mitigate the adverse effects of corruption on public deficits?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 205-231.
    14. Thushyanthan Baskaran & Lars P. Feld & Jan Schnellenbach, 2014. "Fiscal Federalism, Decentralization and Economic Growth: Survey and Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 4985, CESifo.
    15. Burret, Heiko T. & Feld, Lars P. & Schaltegger, Christoph A., 2022. "Fiscal federalism and economic performance new evidence from Switzerland," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    16. Alfonso Mendoza‐Velázquez & Mónica Rubio‐García & Luis D. Conde‐Cortés, 2022. "Fiscal decentralization and regional economic growth: Evidence from Mexico since the 2000s," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 45-65, March.
    17. repec:gig:joupla:v:6:y:2014:i:1:p:3-44 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:30:y:2010:i:1:p:219-233 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Hatfield, John William, 2015. "Federalism, taxation, and economic growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 114-125.
    20. Tristan Canare, 2021. "Decentralization and Development Outcomes: What Does the Empirical Literature Really Say?," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 237(2), pages 111-151, June.
    21. Weingast, Barry R., 2014. "Second Generation Fiscal Federalism: Political Aspects of Decentralization and Economic Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 14-25.
    22. Bibek Adhikari & Saroj Dhital, 2021. "Decentralization and regional convergence: Evidence from night‐time lights data," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(3), pages 1066-1088, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiscal Decentralization; Human Development; Argentina;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:egc:wpaper:825. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Benjamin King (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/egyalus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.