Call for research proposals: Subnational capacities and decentralization in Latin America and the Caribbean
Convocation from September 07 to October 09, 2023
Through this call, we aim to fund up to three research projects that contribute to understanding the determinants of subnational government performance in the region.
In recent decades, countries in the region have embarked on processes of decentralization to empower regional and local governments, with the goals of enhancing the provision of public services and strengthening democratic governance. These efforts have taken various forms and have included elements of fiscal, administrative, and political decentralization, transferring responsibilities and resources to subnational authorities.
While decentralization has shown promise in improving local governance, some significant challenges persist. Factors that have hindered the effective implementation of decentralization policies include the uneven development of subnational state capacities among regions, weak intergovernmental coordination, and flawed systems of fiscal transfer.
Through this call, we aim to fund up to three research projects that contribute to understanding the determinants of the performance of subnational governments in the region and that help identify institutional arrangements and investments that can foster greater capacities and enhance the outcomes of decentralization.
- To apply, please fill this form / Para postularse deberán completar este formulario
- Language of the proposal: English or Spanish
- Deadline for submission: October 9th, 2023
Results
The research team is pleased to announce that the results of the call for research projects "Subnational capacities and decentralization in Latin America and the Caribbean" are now available. The call received a great response from the academic community in the region. The large number of projects submitted made the selection process extremely competitive and a high number of high-quality projects could not be selected.
The wining proposals selected by the jury are (in no specific order):
- "The Anatomy of Colombian Bureaucratic Hierarchies" by Luis R. Martínez, Erik Snowberg, and Michael Ting
- "Fiscal Decentralization, Health Spending, and Local Health Service Capacity: Evidence from Constitutional Reform in Brazil" by Damian Clarke, Rudi Rocha, and Michel Szklo
- "The effects of cadastre modernization on local state capacity and development" by Emmanuel Chávez, María Montoya-Aguirre, and Guillermo Woo-Mora.
