Manipulation of government finances for the benefit of narrowly defined groups is usually thought to be limited to the part of the budget over which politicians exercise discretion in the short run, such as earmarks. Analyzing a revenue-sharing program between the central and local governments...

This paper evaluates the impact of a conditional food supplementation program on child mortality in Ecuador. The program (PANN 2000) was implemented by regular staff at local public health posts and consisted of offering free micronutrient-fortified food for children aged 6–24 months in...

This paper provides regression discontinuity evidence on development impacts of intergovernmental transfers. Extra transfers in Brazil increased local government spending per capita by about 20 percent over a 4 year period with no evidence of crowding out own revenue or other revenue sources....