This article studies the impact of decentralization on the shadow economy. We argue that decentralization may decrease the size of the shadow economy mainly through two transmission channels: (1) decentralization enhancing public sector efficiency (<italic>efficiency effect</italic>), and (2) decentralization...

We study the effect of international trade and freeness of trade (openness) on interregional inequality within countries. We estimate a model derived from a structural economic-geography approach in which interregional inequality depends on weighted trade shares and trade costs. In addition to...

This paper analyzes the impact of political and fiscal decentralization on regional inequalities, using a unique dataset which covers fifty-four countries at different stages of economic development. Cross-section and panel data estimations show that decentralization decreases regional...

This paper provides a new data set of regional income inequalities within countries based on satellite nighttime light data. We first empirically study the relationship between luminosity data and regional incomes for those countries where regional income data are available. We subsequently use...

This paper empirically studies the impact of decentralization and inter-jurisdictional competition on foreign aid effectiveness. For this purpose we examine a commonly used empirical growth model, considering different measures of fiscal decentralization. Our panel estimations reveal that...

The advantages and disadvantages of public sector decentralization are widely discussed in economics and political science. Some authors argue that decentralization leads to an optimal provision of public services and promotes economic growth, while others emphasize the dangers of competition...

The majority of theoretical and empirical studies on the relationship between decentralization and corruption argues that the devolution of power might be a feasible instrument to keep corruption at bay. We argue that this result crucially depends on the possibility to monitor bureaucrat's...

This paper examines whether the federal structure of aid-receiving countries matters in explaining aid effectiveness. Following the decentralization theorem, the devolution of powers should increase aid effectiveness, since local decision-makers are better informed about local needs. At the same...

This paper analyzes the impact of political and fiscal decentralization on regional inequalities using a unique data set which covers 56 countries at different stages of economic develop-ment. Cross-section and panel data estimations show that decentralization decreases regional inequalities in...

The paper studies the effects and the determinants of interregional redistribution in a model of residential and political choice. We find that paradoxical consequences of interjurisdictional transfers arise if people are mobile: while self-sufficient regions are necessarily identical with...