Picazo, Oscar F.Robalino, David A.Voetberg, Albertus2014-08-262014-08-262001-03https://hdl.handle.net/10986/19698Decentralization of fiscal responsibilities has emerged as a primary objective on the agendas of national governments, and international organizations alike. Yet there is little empirical evidence on the potential benefits of this intervention. The authors fill in some quantitative evidence. Using panel data on infant mortality rates, GDP per capita, and the share of public expenditures managed by local governments, they find greater fiscal decentralization is consistently associated with lower mortality rates. The results suggest that the benefits of fiscal decentralization are particularly important for poor countries. They suggest also that the positive effects of fiscal decentralization on infant mortality, are greater in institutional environments that promote political rights. Fiscal decentralization also appears to be a mechanism for improving health outcomes in environments with a high level of ethno-linguistic fractionalization, however, the benefits from fiscal decentralization tend to be smaller.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYADMINISTRATIVE COSTSALLOCATION OF RESOURCESANTI-CORRUPTIONAUTONOMYBANKING CRISESCENTRAL AGENCIESCENTRAL GOVERNMENTCENTRAL GOVERNMENTSCIVIL RIGHTSCOLLATERALIZATIONCOMPETITIVENESSCORRUPTIONDEBTDECENTRALIZATION PROCESSDECISION-MAKINGDEMOCRACYDEPOSIT INSURANCEDEVELOPMENT INDICATORSDEVOLUTIONDISTRICTSECONOMIC ANALYSISECONOMIC EFFICIENCYECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMICSECONOMIES OF SCALEELASTICITYETHNIC GROUPSEXOGENOUS VARIABLESEXPENDITUREEXPORTSFINANCIAL CRISESFINANCIAL PLANNINGFISCALFISCAL DECENTRALIZATIONGDPGDP PER CAPITAGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITAHEALTH OUTCOMESHEALTH SECTORHEALTH SERVICESINCOMEINCOME DISTRIBUTIONINEFFICIENCYINFANT MORTALITYINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITYINSTITUTIONAL REFORMSINSURANCEINVENTORIESLEGITIMACYLOCAL AUTHORITIESLOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESMARGINAL BENEFITSMORTALITYNATIONAL ELECTIONSNATIONAL GOVERNMENTSNATIONAL POLICIESPOLICY RESEARCHPOSITIVE EFFECTSPRIMARY HEALTH CAREPUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC EXPENDITURESPUBLIC INSTITUTIONSPUBLIC POLICIESPUBLIC RESOURCESPURCHASING POWERREAL GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTRESOURCE ALLOCATIONRETIREMENTRISK MANAGEMENTSAVINGSSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL WELFARESOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORSTAXATIONTOTAL EXPENDITURESTRANSITION ECONOMIES10.1596/1813-9450-2565