Decentralisation, quality of government and economic growth in the regions of the EU

  • Rune Dahl Fitjar University of Stavanger
  • Jonathan Muringani University of Stavanger
  • Andrés Rodríguez-Pose London School of Economics

Palabras clave:

Resumen

The effect of decentralisation on regional economic growth is a hotly debated topic. In theory, decentralisation should entail welfare benefits by bringing government closer to the people. In practice, the benefits of decentralisation have been hard to prove. A problem is that the quality of regional governments is often lacking, or at least varies widely across different regions. Hence, regional governments may not be capable of delivering public goods in an efficient and accountable manner. However, previous analyses have neglected how the benefits of decentralisation may depend on the quality of the regional government whose authority is strengthened by such reforms. This paper considers these two dimensions in conjunction, highlighting that the effect of decentralisation on economic performance is highly mediated by the quality of the devolved government. Using panel data for 223 regions in the EU, the results show that the quality of regional government is a better predictor of economic development than decentralisation. Regional government quality also conditions the economic returns to decentralisation, meaning decentralisation works best in regions with a higher quality of government. Accordingly, decentralisation reforms must consider the quality of the regional government to which they would devolve authority.

Descargas

La descarga de datos todavía no está disponible.

Altmetrics

Biografía del autor/a

Rune Dahl Fitjar, University of Stavanger
Catedrático de Innovación, University of Stavanger Business School
Jonathan Muringani, University of Stavanger
Doctorando, University of Stavanger Business School
Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, London School of Economics
Catedrático de Geografía Económica, Departamento de Geografía y Medio Ambiente

Citas

Publicado
2019-02-24
Cómo citar
Fitjar, R. D., Muringani, J., & Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2019). Decentralisation, quality of government and economic growth in the regions of the EU. Revista de Economía Mundial, (51). https://doi.org/10.33776/rem.v0i51.3903
Sección
Sección Especial