On the local politics of administrative decentralization: applying for policy responsibilities in Ecuador

Variation in the behavior and preferences of subnational governments is one of the areas that remain poorly understood by students of comparative decentralization and federalism. Yet, evidence suggests that this variation plays an important role in shaping intergovernmental relations. Ecuador provides an especially interesting case for systematically exploring variation in the behavior of municipalities. Rather than establishing a uniform division of competences between levels of government, the 1998 constitution called on subnational governments to apply for policy responsibilities. Using an original data set, our analysis demonstrates that, in addition to national-level incentives, municipal-level political variables—such as the government’s support base and linkages to civil society—have a strong and significant impact on the behavior of local governments.