Measuring Fiscal Federalism and Decentralization in Latin American: Argentina and Brazil in Comparative Perspective
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Authors
Altavilla, Cristian
Date
2020
Type
working paper
Language
en
Keyword
Alternative Title
Abstract
Argentina and Brazil are two traditional federations in Latin America. Both countries have a formal institutional setting established by a written constitution that provides the main features of a classical federal framework. The main feature is the constitutional guarantee of subnational autonomy. In this context, federalism, decentralisation and autonomy are three interrelated terms. How do we know whether those subnational units are (or not) indeed autonomous? Autonomy is a construct that can be measured through indicators that relate to different aspects of decentralization. As a process, rather than a static structure, decentralization can transform the federal setting and widen or restrict subnational autonomy. The question that arises, then, is how decentralized are these two traditional federations from Latin America? This paper seeks to measure and compare different (formal and informal) aspects of decentralization and fiscal federalism in Argentina and Brazil in order to determine the degree of fiscal decentralization to better understand subnational autonomy and its role within the federation. In doing so, this paper will use a number of variables to help measure the degree of decentralization.
Description
© IIGR, 2020
Citation
Publisher
Queen's University Institute of Intergovernmental Relations