Patronage-Preserving Federalism? Legislative Malapportionment and Subnational Fiscal Policies in Argentina

This paper builds on institutional analysis to generate new conclusions about the economic viability of federalism. It does so by suggesting that Weingast´s seminal model of marketpreserving federalism falls short of accounting for the poor fiscal performance of multitiered systems in the developing world. This theoretical deficiency stems to a large extent from the insufficient attention paid by this model to the institutional complexity of federal systems, particularly the public policy effects of legislative malapportionment. Subsequent to an analytical discussion of the potential public spending and distributive politics distortions resulting from overrepresentation, we offer preliminary empirical evidence from Argentina, a federation exhibiting one of the most decentralized fiscal systems in the world and severe imbalances in the territorial distribution of legislative and economic resources. The findings show not only that said imbalances lead to sub-optimal fiscal results but also that they have a mutually-reinforcing relationship with regionalized patronage.Federalism, legislative malapportionment, subnational fiscal policies, patronage, Argentina

Paradoxes of Federalism?: Political Institutions and Fiscal Decentralization in Argentina and Spain

Aquest article suggereix una paradoxa putativa del federalisme. Les organitzacions polítiques federals, que normalment es basen en un bicameralisme fort, de vegades poden ser menys efectives que els sistemes unitaris més desorganitzats i descentralitzats en l’aprofundiment de la descentralització fiscal. Així doncs, els estudis de cas d’Argentina i Espanya serveixen per proporcionar coneixements sobre la manera com la distribució dels recursos institucionals en organitzacions polítiques de diversos nivells dóna forma a la mesura en què la política de transferència d’ingressos als governs subnacionals pot ser explotada amb finalitats polítiques. I es fa mitjançant l’anàlisi institucional i l’evidència qualitativa per avaluar l’efecte dels patrons de representació territorial a les polítiques de descentralització fiscal. Primerament, se centra en la representació territorial en l’àmbit legislatiu i en el seu efecte en els resultats fiscals intergovernamentals. Així mateix, explora les condicions que porten a la negociació intergovernamental bilateral i multilateral, que, tal com discutirem, són part integrant de la tensió entre la distribució territorial d’influència política i els recursos econòmics. La recerca suggereix que els interessos subnacionals d’Argentina es troben “congelats” en l’àmbit del Senat i que les negociacions intergovernamentals es duran a terme de manera bilateral. En canvi, els acords institucionals de composició oberta i un senat relativament impotent a Espanya han impulsat la reparació dels interessos regionals gràcies als fòrums intergovernamentals informals i a l’augment de la col•laboració multilateral. Aquestes diferències en els patrons de representació institucional i en les estratègies de negociació donen compte de l’escassetat de la descentralització fiscal a l’Argentina i del seu progrés relatiu a Espanya.Este artículo sugiere una paradoja putativa del federalismo. En otras palabras, las organizaciones políticas federales, que normalmente se apoyan en un bicameralismo fuerte, a veces pueden ser menos efectivas que los sistemas unitarios más desorganizados y descentralizados en la profundización de la descentralización fiscal. A tal efecto, los estudios de caso de Argentina y España se utilizan para proporcionar conocimientos sobre la manera como la distribución de los recursos institucionales en organizaciones políticas de varios niveles da forma a la medida en la que la política de transferencia de ingresos a los gobiernos subnacionales puede ser explotada con fines políticos. Y se hace mediante el análisis institucional y la evidencia cualitativa para evaluar el efecto de los patrones de representación territorial en las políticas de descentralización fiscal. En primer lugar, se centra en la representación territorial en el ámbito legislativo y en su efecto en los resultados fiscales intergubernamentales. Asimismo, explora las condiciones que llevan a la negociación intergubernamental bilateral y multilateral, que, tal y como vamos a discutir, son parte integrante de la tensión entre la distribución territorial de influencia política y los recursos económicos. La investigación sugiere que los intereses subnacionales de Argentina se encuentran “congelados” en el ámbito del Senado y que las negociaciones intergubernamentales se llevarán a cabo de manera bilateral. En cambio, los acuerdos institucionales de composición abierta y un senado relativamente impotente en España han impulsado la reparación de los intereses regionales gracias a los foros intergubernamentales informales y al aumento de la colaboración multilateral. Estas diferencias en los patrones de representación institucional y en las estrategias de negociación dan cuenta de la escasez de la descentralización fiscal en Argentina y de su progreso relativo en España.This paper suggests a putative paradox of federalism, namely that formal federal polities, which are normally based on strong bicameralism, can at times be less effective than more loose, yet decentralizing unitary systems in deepening fiscal decentralization. For that purpose, case studies of Argentina and Spain are used to provide insights into the way that the distribution of institutional resources in multi-tiered polities shapes the extent to which the policy of transferring revenue to subnational governments can be exploited for political gain. It does so by using institutional analysis and qualitative evidence to assess the effect of patterns of territorial representation on fiscal decentralization policies. It focuses first on legislative-level territorial representation and its effect on intergovernmental fiscal outcomes. Also, it explores the conditions leading to bilateral and multilateral intergovernmental bargaining, which, we will argue are part and parcel of the tension between territorial distribution of political influence and economic resources. The research suggests that whereas Argentine subnational interests are “locked-in” at the Senate level and intergovernmental negotiations are conducted bilaterally, openended institutional arrangements and a relatively impotent senate in Spain boosted the redressing of regional concerns through informal intergovernmental fora and increasing multilateral collaboration. Such differences in patterns of institutional representation and bargaining strategies account for the paucity of fiscal decentralization in Argentina and its relative progress in Spain

Patronage-Preserving Federalism? Legislative Malapportionment and Subnational Fiscal Policies in Argentina

This paper builds on institutional analysis to generate new conclusions about the economic viability of federalism. It does so by suggesting that Weingast´s seminal model of marketpreserving federalism falls short of accounting for the poor fiscal performance of multitiered systems in the developing world. This theoretical deficiency stems to a large extent from the insufficient attention paid by this model to the institutional complexity of federal systems, particularly the public policy effects of legislative malapportionment. Subsequent to an analytical discussion of the potential public spending and distributive politics distortions resulting from overrepresentation, we offer preliminary empirical evidence from Argentina, a federation exhibiting one of the most decentralized fiscal systems in the world and severe imbalances in the territorial distribution of legislative and economic resources. The findings show not only that said imbalances lead to sub‐optimal fiscal results but also that they have a mutually‐reinforcing relationship with regionalized patronage.Der Autor dieses Beitrages fragt mit institutionenanalytischem Zugriff nach den ökonomischen Implikationen föderalistischer Systeme. Das grundlegende Modell des „markterhaltenden Föderalismus“ (nach Weingart) bietet keine adäquate Erklärung für die schlechte fiskalische Performance mehrstufiger Systeme in Entwicklungsländern. Dieses theoretische Defizit resultiert weitgehend aus der ungenügenden Aufmerksamkeit, die dieses Modell der institutionellen Komplexität föderaler Systeme widmet, insbesondere den Auswirkungen legislativer Überrepräsentation für die öffentliche Politikgestaltung. Nach einer Diskussion der potentiellen Verzerrungen in der öffentlichen Ausgaben‐ und Verteilungspolitik als Folge ungleicher legislativer Repräsentation folgt eine empirische Analyse des Falls Argentinien. Argentinien ist ein föderaler Staat mit einem der am weitesten dezentralisierten Fiskalsysteme weltweit und gravierenden Ungleichgewichten in der Verteilung legislativer und ökonomischer Ressourcen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die genannten Ungleichgewichte nicht nur zu suboptimalen fiskalischen Resultaten führen, sondern auch ein sich wechselseitig verstärkendes Verhältnis mit regionalisierten Patronagebeziehungen aufweisen

Intergovernmental fiscal relations, 'Argentine Style'

This study assesses the explanatory power of two competing views about intergovernmental fiscal transfers; one emphasizing the traditional neoclassical approach to federal-subnational fiscal relations and the other suggesting that transfers are contingent on the political fortunes and current political vulnerability of each level of government. These models are tested using data from Argentina, a federation exhibiting one of the most decentralised fiscal systems in the world and severe imbalances in the territorial distribution of legislative and economic resources. Over-represented provinces ruled by governors who belong to parties different to that controlling the national executive can bring into play their representational advantages to attract shares of federal transfers beyond social welfare criteria. This finding suggests that decision makers in federal countries must pay close heed to the need to synchronize institutional reforms and fiscal adjustment

Informe técnico final : la arquitectura de la diversidad; diseño y capacidades institucionales para resolución de conflictos en Las Américas

El objetivo central del proyecto es estudiar las opciones institucionales existentes para resolver los problemas de diversidad política, social y étnica en las Américas. Tanto la literatura de ciencias sociales como especialistas de campo han analizado el efecto de las capacidades institucionales criticas para facilitar gobernanza democrática en términos del diseño de reformas institucionales, mecanismos de autogobierno, descentralización, leyes electorales y regulación de partidos políticos, entre otros. Estos esfuerzos, meritorios de por cierto, han estado limitados por el carácter reduccionista dictado por su foco temático y carecemos de estudios de carácter general para teorizar sobre los efectos combinados de estas opciones institucionales. A través de un enfoque integrativo este proyecto abordara un desafío pendiente en términos de establecer porque y como algunos países de las Américas están mejor gobernados que otros. Este aporte comparativo, tanto en los parámetros de análisis como en los casos observados, es crucial a la hora de ponderar los repertorios de desarrollo y diseño institucional

Lingering random walks in random environment on a strip

We consider a recurrent random walk (RW) in random environment (RE) on a strip. We prove that if the RE is i. i. d. and its distribution is not supported by an algebraic subsurface in the space of parameters defining the RE then the RW exhibits the "(log t)-squared" asymptotic behaviour. The exceptional algebraic subsurface is described by an explicit system of algebraic equations. One-dimensional walks with bounded jumps in a RE are treated as a particular case of the strip model. If the one dimensional RE is i. i. d., then our approach leads to a complete and constructive classification of possible types of asymptotic behaviour of recurrent random walks. Namely, the RW exhibits the $(\log t)^{2}$ asymptotic behaviour if the distribution of the RE is not supported by a hyperplane in the space of parameters which shall be explicitly described. And if the support of the RE belongs to this hyperplane then the corresponding RW is a martingale and its asymptotic behaviour is governed by the Central Limit Theorem

Limit theorems for von Mises statistics of a measure preserving transformation

For a measure preserving transformation $T$ of a probability space $(X,\mathcal F,\mu)$ we investigate almost sure and distributional convergence of random variables of the form $$x \to \frac{1}{C_n} \sum_{i_1<n,...,i_d<n} f(T^{i_1}x,...,T^{i_d}x),\, n=1,2,...,$$ where $f$ (called the \emph{kernel}) is a function from $X^d$ to $\R$ and $C_1, C_2,...$ are appropriate normalizing constants. We observe that the above random variables are well defined and belong to $L_r(\mu)$ provided that the kernel is chosen from the projective tensor product $$L_p(X_1,\mathcal F_1, \mu_1) \otimes_{\pi}...\otimes_{\pi} L_p(X_d,\mathcal F_d, \mu_d)\subset L_p(\mu^d)$$ with $p=d\,r,\, r\ \in [1, \infty).$ We establish a form of the individual ergodic theorem for such sequences. Next, we give a martingale approximation argument to derive a central limit theorem in the non-degenerate case (in the sense of the classical Hoeffding's decomposition). Furthermore, for $d=2$ and a wide class of canonical kernels $f$ we also show that the convergence holds in distribution towards a quadratic form $\sum_{m=1}^{\infty} \lambda_m\eta^2_m$ in independent standard Gaussian variables $\eta_1, \eta_2,...$. Our results on the distributional convergence use a $T$--\,invariant filtration as a prerequisite and are derived from uni- and multivariate martingale approximations

Canonical description of ideal magnetohydrodynamic flows and integrals of motion

In the framework of the variational principle the canonical variables describing ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows of general type (i.e., with spatially varying entropy and nonzero values of all topological invariants) are introduced. The corresponding complete velocity representation enables us not only to describe the general type flows in terms of single-valued functions, but also to solve the intriguing problem of the ``missing'' MHD integrals of motion. The set of hitherto known MHD local invariants and integrals of motion appears to be incomplete: for the vanishing magnetic field it does not reduce to the set of the conventional hydrodynamic invariants. And if the MHD analogs of the vorticity and helicity were discussed earlier for the particular cases, the analog of Ertel invariant has been so far unknown. It is found that on the basis of the new invariants introduced a wide set of high-order invariants can be constructed. The new invariants are relevant both for the deeper insight into the problem of the topological structure of the MHD flows as a whole and for the examination of the stability problems. The additional advantage of the proposed approach is that it enables one to deal with discontinuous flows, including all types of possible breaks.Comment: 16 page

Quasi-Two-Dimensional Dynamics of Plasmas and Fluids

In the lowest order of approximation quasi-twa-dimensional dynamics of planetary atmospheres and of plasmas in a magnetic field can be described by a common convective vortex equation, the Charney and Hasegawa-Mirna (CHM) equation. In contrast to the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation, the CHM equation admits "shielded vortex solutions" in a homogeneous limit and linear waves ("Rossby waves" in the planetary atmosphere and "drift waves" in plasmas) in the presence of inhomogeneity. Because of these properties, the nonlinear dynamics described by the CHM equation provide rich solutions which involve turbulent, coherent and wave behaviors. Bringing in non ideal effects such as resistivity makes the plasma equation significantly different from the atmospheric equation with such new effects as instability of the drift wave driven by the resistivity and density gradient. The model equation deviates from the CHM equation and becomes coupled with Maxwell equations. This article reviews the linear and nonlinear dynamics of the quasi-two-dimensional aspect of plasmas and planetary atmosphere starting from the introduction of the ideal model equation (CHM equation) and extending into the most recent progress in plasma turbulence.U. S. Department of Energy DE-FG05-80ET-53088Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of JapanFusion Research Cente