ISP Working Paper Number 05-06

Fiscal Decentralization,Macrostability, and Growth

Jorge Martinez-Vazquez and Robert M. McNab, February 2005

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Abstract:

This paper examines how fiscal decentralization may influence economic growth. Previous research on this question has primarily focused on the potential direct relationship between decentralization and growth. In this paper, we also examine the potential indirect influence of decentralization on growth through its impact on macroeconomic stability. Using an international panel data set, we find that fiscal decentralization appears to reduce the rate of inflation in the sample countries and it does not appear to directly influence economic growth. Fiscal decentralization, however, appears to have an indirect, positive effect on growth through its positive influence on macroeconomic stability. The indirect effect of fiscal decentralization on economic growth via macroeconomic stability has not been previously identified in the literature.