Leonardo Letelier and José Luis Sáez Lozano recently released an ICePP working paper that hinges upon the relationship between fiscal decentralization and subjective well-being in Chile.
The authors analyze a dataset merged from two household surveys (from 2011 and 2013) in which a life satisfaction question was included. They find evidence that, on average, fiscal decentralization affects subjective well-being positively, but the effect is non-linear and only high subjective well-being groups clearly benefit. The authors suggest that the evidence is a call for a more aggressive inter-municipal fiscal equalization scheme.
Read the full working paper here.
About ICePP’s Working Paper Series
The International Center for Public Policy has published a working paper series since 1997 to disseminate academic research quickly and to stimulate discussion that can expand knowledge, instill optimal practice and build capacity in the public sector around the world to improve human well-being.
Our primary areas of interest are fiscal decentralization and local governance, tax policy, and public budgeting and fiscal management in the global context. Some papers may focus on the United States if the results have international relevance.
All views expressed in this working paper series are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the International Center for Public Policy, the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies or Georgia State University. All papers should be cited properly with reference to the author(s), institution and working paper series. Find all of our working papers here.