Decentralisation, Democratisation and Liberalisation: The History of Revenue Sharing in Argentina, 1934–1999

In: Journal of Latin American studies, Volume 33, Issue 1, p. 1-28

Abstract

This article critically evaluates hypotheses that attribute decentralisation
in Latin America to democratisation and economic liberalisation. It examines
these hypotheses in historical perspective by looking at the experience over time
with revenue decentralisation and recentralisation in Argentina, one of Latin
America's early decentralisers. Because neither the democratic election of
subnational officials nor the pursuit of economic liberalisation is unique to the
contemporary period in Argentina, the Argentine case represents an opportunity
to gain analytical leverage on the theories emerging in the contemporary period.
The paper presents qualified support for the argument that democratisation
drives decentralisation and confounding evidence for the liberalisation hypothesis.