Handbook on Decentralization, Devolution and the State

Description

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to the dynamics of political and economic decentralization in contemporary regimes, this comprehensive Handbook offers a critical examination of how the decentralization of governance affects citizen well-being. Expert contributors provide an analysis of theoretical developments and empirical approaches in the study of decentralization, exploring how decentralization is conceptualized and measured. Chapters examine central topics including how the degree and type of decentralization varies over time and across countries, how political decentralization affects the behaviour of parties and voters, and the social and economic consequences of decentralizing power. Offering a comparative perspective, the Handbook utilizes insightful international case studies from Latin America, North America, Western Europe and Asia. Attention is also paid to the impact of the Great Recession of 2008 and the Covid-19 pandemic on intergovernmental relations. This Handbook will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of political geography and geopolitics, regulation and governance, and international politics. It will also be useful for practitioners in these fields who are interested in decentralization. Dedication Contents List of contributors Preface 1 Introduction to the Handbook on Decentralization, Devolution and the State • Ignacio Lago PART I: METHODS, DATA AND APPROACHES 2 Conceptualizing and measuring decentralization • Paolo Dardanelli 3 Exploring and explaining trends in decentralization • Arjan H. Schakel 4 Second-order elections and electoral democracy • Hermann Schmitt and Eftichia Teperoglou 5 Redistribution and equality: the role of the territorial conflict dimension • Francesc Amat and Emmy Lindstam 6 The political determinants of decentralization • Amuitz Garmendia PART II: DECENTRALIZATION IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE 7 Decentralization and subnational politics in Latin America • Jorge Gordin 8 Decentralization and subnational politics in Asia • Sarah Shair-Rosenfield 9 Decentralization and subnational politics in North America • Raúl A. Ponce Rodríguez 10 Decentralization and subnational politics in Western Europe • Caroline Gray, Ed Turner and Davide Vampa PART III: POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF DECENTRALIZATION 11 Attributions of responsibility in multilevel states • Sandra León and Ignacio Jurado 12 Decentralization and electoral accountability • Philip Charbonneau and Cameron D. Anderson 13 Territorial autonomy, ethnic conflict, and secession: between a rock and a hard place? • Paul Anderson and Soeren Keil 14 Electoral behaviour in multilevel systems • Jean-François Daoust and André Blais PART IV: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF DECENTRALIZATION 15 Federalism and income inequality • Vassilis Tselios 16 A multidimensional analysis of the link between decentralization and development • Gianpiero Torrisi 17 Social policy in decentralized countries • Hanna Kleider and Lucas Silva Lopes 18 Fiscal decentralization and governance quality: a review of the literature and additional evidence • Andreas P. Kyriacou and Oriol Roca-Sagalés 19 The Great Recession and the Great Lockdown: how are they shaping intergovernmental relations? • Luiz de Mello Index