Latin America & Caribbean Archives – Decentralization Net

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[ July 11, 2026 ] Is there an economic payoff from creating new local governments? Evidence from Brazil Brazil
[ July 8, 2026 ] Property tax in Europe: a changing landscape Decentralization
[ July 6, 2026 ] Realizing the Jobs Potential of MENA’s Cities Cities and urban development
[ July 2, 2026 ] A new frontier for development cooperation: From localizing development to leveraging multilevel governance Community
[ June 11, 2026 ] Vietnam’s ambitious subnational governance restructuring Asia

Is there an economic payoff from creating new local governments? Evidence from Brazil

July 11, 2026 Limabenla Jamir

Changing local political boundaries by splitting local governments to create more localized governance is a common, yet contested reform pursued worldwide. Proponents argue smaller local government units can improve services, boost local economic activity, tailor […]

Nearby solutions: The role of regional and local governments in Latin America

December 18, 2025 Limabenla Jamir

The decentralization process over the past four decades in Latin America and the Caribbean has strengthened the role of local and regional governments, yet systematic knowledge of their functions, resources, and service delivery remains limited. […]

Territorial development and decentralization in Latin America and the Caribbean

November 13, 2025 LPS Alliance

The newly published study by the TALD Facility, Territorial Development and Decentralization in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Comparative Study Across 22 Countries (2025), offers a timely, finely-grained examination of decentralization dynamics in the […]

Territorial income differences and dynamics within Latin American countries

October 7, 2025 LPS Alliance

For decades, Latin America has been characterized by deep territorial disparities in income and productivity. Stark divides between leading metropolitan regions and lagging rural areas have shaped economic opportunity, social cohesion, and politics. A recent […]

Subnational governments, a key link for territorial development in Iberia and Latin America

September 12, 2025 LPS Alliance

“Subnational governments, a key link for territorial development.” This was a central theme of the Fourteenth Ibero-American Conference on Local Finance, held on September 3 and 4 in Asunción, Paraguay. The conference was supported by […]

IDB Empowers Local Governments with Direct Access to Funding

June 28, 2025 LPS Alliance

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved the “IDB for Cities and Regions” initiative, a pioneering five-year pilot that will enable eligible cities, states, and regions in Latin America and the Caribbean to access a […]

Decentralization and Criminal Gangs in El Salvador

April 9, 2025 LPS Alliance

Over the past two decades, decentralization has been widely embraced as a pathway to stronger governance, more responsive service delivery, and increased local accountability. In El Salvador, this model helped democratize the political landscape after […]

IADB releases framework for subnational governance and development in Latin America and the Caribbean

June 12, 2024 Lynn Wambu

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) was founded in 1959 as a partnership between the United States and 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The IADB currently comprises 48 member countries, including borrowers and non-borrowers. It’s […]

Decentralization in Latin America After 40 Years: Work in Progress

May 18, 2024 LPS Alliance

In 1995, Andrew Nickson, a leading scholar on decentralization (Honorary Reader in Public Management and Latin American Development at the International Development Department, University of Birmingham) wrote the first English-language book on local government in […]

Strengthening subnational fiscal management in Latin America

August 13, 2023 LPS Alliance

Latin America and the Caribbean are among the most decentralized global regions in the world. The nature and extent of (fiscal) decentralization in the region was recently established in the Outlook of Fiscal Relations among […]