This paper does three things. First, based on a limited number of theoretically established dimensions, it proposes a new de facto indicator for the rule of law. It is the first such indicator to take the quality of legal norms explicitly into account. Second, using this indicator we shed new...

Measurement of both federalism and decentralization has been contentious. We introduce three new indicators reflecting important aspects of both federalism and decentralization. The three new indicators are the result of principal component analysis. When we try to identify their main...

This paper analyzes the determinants of local institutions and distribution of political power within a constant 'macro-institutional' setting. We show that characteristics of Brazilian municipalities related to institutional quality and distribution of political power are partly inherited from...

While it is clear that financial depth and economic diversity are prerequisites for the realisation of growth and development objectives, heterogeneous factors that determines financial development remains imperfectly understood. This ambiguity in the structural relations between varied...

In the rich Western societies, the several crises at the beginning of this century focus on the worsening of old economic and social problems, which have taken on new importance in the cities undergoing a rapid transformation because of the globalization and the new structures of the labor...