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Download the Paper (292 K, PDF file) - January 19, 2005 Tell a colleague about it. Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing.

ABSTRACT:
This paper analyzes the budgetary choices of municipal governments in Mexico. Using a panel data approach that includes most municipalities in the country throughout the 1990-2001 period, I investigate to what extent local democracy has stimulated municipal governments to increase their investments on basic infrastructure projects, rather than expanding their bureaucratic apparatuses. My findings suggest that only under a decentralized policy setting, the competitiveness of the electoral arena has a positive influence on the provision of local public goods. I also find evidence that basic infrastructure spending increases when local elections are held, and when the local mayor belongs to a different party than the state governor.

SUGGESTED CITATION:
Carlos Moreno, "Analyzing the Performance of Local Government in Mexico: A Political Explanation of Municipal Budgetary Choices" (January 19, 2005). Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Paper moreno_carlos.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/usmex/moreno_carlos