Subnational Governments Research Articles

The role of subnational tax capacity: A path toward regional integration

The tax capacity exercised by subnational governments in a country is fundamental in shaping the tax and economic system, especially when there is a coordination of interests, such as in the Pacific Alliance. Therefore, the coordination exercised by its member countries – Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru – must be strategically aligned to comprehensively strengthen this Alliance. Considering the above, the objective of this study is to identify the similarities or differences between these four countries, check the tax behaviors of their subnational governments, and assess the degree of their impact on this trade agreement. Based on a longitudinal quantitative methodology, the results reveal significant differences between the subnational collection systems, identifying that Mexico and Peru are the only members that have maintained a similar trend, significantly differentiating themselves from Chile and Colombia. Despite their subnational tax structures, the main finding is that the Pacific Alliance needs to implement more coordinated actions in tax matters to strengthen its economic activities with other countries. A lack of coordination could counteract the commercial and financial strategies presented as a regional bloc, impacting investment, competitiveness, and regional sustainability. Overall, coordinated tax policies within the Pacific Alliance can drive regional integration, contributing to the region’s long-term stability.

From full cooperation to all against all? Italian regions in intergovernmental relations during the pandemic

ABSTRACT Intergovernmental relations (IGRs) in federal and decentralized systems were challenged by the pandemic. In Italy, the recentralization of decision-making made regional participation in the process dependent on the type of policy arena, government in office, and degree of problem pressure. Much more remains to be said about the subnational governments’ behaviour during the health crisis. The aim of the paper is to investigate Italian regions’ behaviour in vertical and horizontal IGRs during the pandemic. The analysis focuses on the contents of over 300 newspaper articles collected during the state of emergency in Italy. The results show that regional behaviour towards other regions depended on the type of interest at stake, while in vertical relations, subnational governments were usually always conflictual towards the central government.

EXPLAINING THE NATURE OF POLICY RESPONSES DURING THE PANDEMIC OUTBREAK: The Role of Geographical Characteristics

AbstractThe Covid‐19 pandemic had a varied impact on different regions in Europe, resulting in diverse policy responses from subnational governments. In this article we investigate the policy measures local and regional authorities implemented during the initial wave of the pandemic, with a focus on 28 regions and cities in the European Union (EU). We examine 317 measures in the areas of public health, social security, daily life and work, and economic recovery, using a new analytical framework based on resilience theory to categorize these measures as mitigating, compensating, circumventing or exploiting. Through this research we aim to highlight the connection between the type and frequency of measures and regional characteristics, such as the severity of the pandemic, the quality of human capital and structural factors such as digital skills and governance quality. Our findings reveal a prevalence of coping measures, specifically in terms of support for vulnerable populations, that indicate that policy responses are primarily focused on the short term. However, our study also identifies proactive measures that suggest potential long‐term transformations in regions with higher levels of digital literacy, quality governance and lifelong learning opportunities. This article contributes to understanding the factors that influence regional resilience by suggesting that local and regional capacities significantly shape the nature of policy responses to crises. Additionally, in this article we emphasize the strategic importance of anticipating future crises and underscore the need for strategic intelligence and long‐term thinking in regional governance.

Biodiversity Policy Integration at the sub-national level: Insights from the German Länder in the context of sub-national biodiversity strategies and action plans

ABSTRACT The uptake of biodiversity along different political levels and into sector policies remains a major global challenge. Sub-national governments hold crucial institutional competencies for enabling this Biodiversity Policy Integration (BPI). However, these political levels are largely overlooked in international agreements and the BPI literature. Using the example of the German states (Länder), this study aims to widen the debate through a sub-national perspective. Therefore, 16 interviews with representatives of all German state environmental ministries have been conducted about the implementation of sub-national biodiversity strategies and action plans. The study identifies key barriers and levers to BPI from the perspective of these actors and relates them to underlying causes. State biodiversity policies appear to be trapped in institutional lock-ins, manifested in weak coordination and evaluation mechanisms. Policy change is inevitably linked to the integrative leadership of individual policy-makers or the external interference of public or European initiatives. To avoid merely symbolic policy-making, national and international processes should emphasize joint, cross-level coordination, as incoherencies at higher political levels can only be resolved to a limited extent at lower administrative levels.

Climate change regulations in subnational governments of the Southeast Asian countries: case studies from Indonesia and the Philippines

As of 2023, all Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states (AMS) have ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement and submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The majority of these NDCs acknowledge the critical role of subnational governments in fulfilling their climate commitments. This research examines the scope of subnational climate regulations and policies through case studies in Indonesia and the Philippines. The findings reveal that in both countries, subnational climate regulations and policies fall short of matching the ambition of the national NDCs. The research identifies several factors contributing to this gap, including: (i) regulations being introduced superficially; (ii) slow transmission of policies from national to subnational levels; (iii) a focus on short-term projects; (iv) a lack of prioritisation of climate issues; (v) limited understanding and awareness of climate change impacts at the local level; and (vi) the absence of a clear framework for integrating other non-state actors.

Engagement with the EU by Local and Regional Authorities from South East Europe

This article applies MLG theory to the study of engagement of local and regional authorities from South East Europe with the EU. It identifies the EU policies that impact the local and regional authorities from the region. This is a reliable predictor of the areas in which they are likely to engage with the EU. The article also identifies the various epiphanies of this engagement. Local and regional authorities from South East Europe engage with the EU through their own national associations but also through the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS). This is a region-wide organisation of which all the national associations of local and regional authorities from South East Europe are members. Lobbying with EU institutions does not play a big role for the local and regional authorities from South East Europe. These authorities, however, both those from EU and those from non-EU countries, attempt to influence EU policy through the national governments and, where the interests of the national government are not aligned with those of sub-national authorities, through the regional network NALAS or other channels, such as European networks of local and regional authorities, the Committee of the Regions, and Brussels- based representation offices. These offices are limited in number and size due to their high cost and the limited benefits they generate, e.g., in terms of impact on policy. The study evidences a different approach to engagement with the EU in EU and non-EU countries from South East Europe. Whilst NALAS creates momentum around the interests of local and regional authorities from South East Europe, its existence also reveals the relative weakness of these sub-national authorities that, due to their limited powers and resources, are unable to engage with the EU directly and must do so through NALAS, European networks, the CoR or, where viable, the national governments.

Adversarialism and power-sharing: the effect of political competition on the management-performance relationship

AbstractWe analyze the moderating effect of political contexts on the management-performance relationship. Dissimilar party systems generate different patterns of political competition, such as adversarialism versus power-sharing. We argue adversarialism strengthens the effect of chief executives’ experience on government performance by offering more incentives for competition and accountability, compared to power-sharing systems. Although Colombian and Mexican subnational governments share several institutional similarities, Mexico exhibits more adversarial competition, compared to Colombia’s power-sharing tradition. Therefore, governors’ background experience should be more strongly associated with gubernatorial performance in Mexico than in Colombia. We built panel data sets for the 32 Mexican states and the 32 Colombian departamentos by collecting governors’ biographical information, regional characteristics, and performance indicators for education (high school enrollment) and health (infant mortality rate). Findings indicate governors’ experience enhances performance in Mexican states, but not in Colombian departamentos. These suggest political competition patterns condition the role of executive experience on performance.

The law of thaw: understanding subnational land use policies for permafrost-agroecosystems

Abstract As the Arctic warms and growing seasons start to lengthen, governments and producers are speculating about northern “climate-driven agricultural frontiers” as a potential solution to food insecurity. One of the central ecological factors in northern spaces, however, is permafrost (perennial frozen ground), which can drive cascading environmental changes upon thaw. Considering the land requirements for expanded agriculture and the unique challenges of northern farming, national and subnational governments are grappling with and facilitating this speculative boom in different ways. Analysing agricultural land use policy instruments from the US State of Alaska and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in Russia, this paper investigates if and how permafrost factors into their legal frameworks and what impacts this has on agricultural development, conservation, and food security. Alaska and the Republic of Sakha were chosen for reasons including both having at least 100 years of agricultural history on permafrost soils, both containing extensive amounts of permafrost within their landmasses and both containing permafrost that is ice-rich. Comparing legal texts as indicative of state capacities and strategies to govern, the paper finds that the two regions diverge in how they understand and regulate permafrost, and suggests that these approaches could benefit from one another. Bringing together geoclimatic and sociocultural concerns to problematise static policy divisions, this paper gestures to a path forward wherein subnational policy can balance needs for food, environmental, and cultural security in the North.

Strengthening Paradiplomacy for Migrant Worker Protection: The Collaboration Between Riau Islands Province and Johor State (2019–2024)

This study examines the paradiplomatic collaboration between the Riau Islands Provincial Government and the State of Johor in safeguarding Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) from 2019 to 2024. As a critical gateway for Indonesian labor migration to Malaysia, the Riau Islands face ongoing challenges in providing adequate protection for migrant workers, particularly within border regions. Using David Criekmans' framework on paradiplomacy, this research explored the dynamics, challenges, and limitations of the cooperative efforts between these sub-national governments. The study employed a descriptive qualitative methodology, drawing on document analysis and case studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of the actions undertaken. The findings highlight significant barriers to effective collaboration, including (1) insufficient political representation and coordination between the two sub-national governments; (2) central government dominance in decision-making, limiting local authority; (3) bilateral agreements that inadequately address migrant worker protection; and (4) constrained sub-national diplomatic efforts under central government oversight. These factors impeded the ability of the Riau Islands Province and Johor State to act as pivotal actors in resolving migrant worker-related challenges. This research contributed to the discourse on paradiplomacy by identifying the structural and operational shortcomings in cross-border collaboration for migrant worker protection, offering insights for strengthening sub-national cooperation in similar contexts.

A framework for evaluating women’s leadership programmes

The increase in women’s leadership programmes has been paralleled by a growing demand on behalf of private and public sector stakeholders for pragmatic reporting on impact assessment. Yet, there remains limited research and tools available for conducting evaluation of women’s leadership programmes. Based on an extensive review of the literature and co-design with a sub-national Australian government, we develop an evaluation framework for women’s leadership programmes. Our framework identifies critical measures and indicators at a micro, meso and macro level that can be used by researchers and practitioners to measure the impact of women’s leadership programmes on women (and minoritised genders), organisations and structures – wider gender equality. We argue that evaluation is valuable in understanding the impact that women’s leadership programmes have as well as the impact they do not have – providing more rigorous analysis of the sometimes tenuous impacts of women’s leadership programmes. Such evaluation is critical to identifying women’s leadership programmes’ roles in tackling gender inequalities and women’s continued under-representation in leadership. It may also help identify other interventions and policy and legislative change needed to bring about a desired change.

Decentralization and diaspora capture: transnationalism, autocracy, and hybrid power in federal Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This article analyzes how transnational actors navigate the tensions between federal policy, more localized power structures, and informal forms of authority in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State (SRS). The concept of ‘diaspora capture’ foregrounds the efforts of state officials and transnational elites to take control of processes through which diaspora identities and patterns of coordination are formed and negotiated within webs of kinship and economic relations. Somali social structure has often been described as essentially ‘stateless’ or democratic to the point of anarchy, and Somali transnationalism is marked by webs of kinship-based reciprocity and informal economic practice. Nevertheless, we show that in eastern Ethiopia, post-conflict diaspora engagement since 2010 is characterized by persistent efforts of government elites and diaspora actors to gain influence over each other, reshaping the transnational terrain. We argue for more attention in transnational studies to how the conflicts and tensions between national or federal policy environments and subnational authority structures can create new fields of transnational interaction and unexpected collaborations between local governments (including autocratic ones) and diaspora constituents.

Electoral Gender Quotas for Females Representation in Subnational Governments: Conversations with Female Members of the County Assemblies from Central Kenya Region

Electoral Gender Quotas for Females Representation in Subnational Governments: Conversations with Female Members of the County Assemblies from Central Kenya Region

Untangling the network structure for marine litter monitoring governance

Marine litter monitoring faces integration gaps that can be addressed through multi-sectoral collaboration. Social Network Analysis (SNA) helps identify stakeholder roles in accessing, sharing, bridging, and coordinating data for effective monitoring. This study examined a network of 105 stakeholders engaged in a subnational governance arrangement for marine litter monitoring in São Paulo, Brazil. We found that the network allows access and information-sharing among every actor (i.e., non-fragmented), even from different sectors (i.e., heterophilic). Although connections are still scarce (i.e., low-density) and decentralized (i.e., low-centralization), bridging and coordinating information relied on central and intermediary actors. SNA findings at the actor level (i.e., degree and betweenness centrality) highlighted the most suitable institutions for these roles. These findings support the development of networked actions for monitoring and assessing marine litter at subnational and national levels, contributing to the implementation of the new Plastics Treaty and the Sustainable Development Goal 14.

A methodological framework for assessing regional climate efforts. Learning from its application in Italy

In multi-level governance systems, regions are key actors in tackling climate change, acting as a bridging authority between the state and municipalities. Regions can provide a common framework and support local action, in particular through ad-hoc or mainstreamed mitigation and adaptation strategies. Despite this, their contribution to multi-level climate planning is still little explored in the scientific literature. This work proposes a methodological framework developed to comprehensively assess the climate efforts of regional governments, based on three dimensions: ambition, robustness, implementation and progress. Ambition qualifies the regions' commitment. Robustness assesses the evidence-based approach of the plan and its link with the regional sustainable development strategy, as well as the regions’ involvement in transnational networks. Implementation and progress, records the availability of indicators to provide evidence of the actions taken, monitor progress, and inform stakeholders. Applying the proposed methodology to the Italian multi-regional case study sheds light on the weaknesses that limit the impact of climate action, while defining the factors that enhance climate performance. The results show that transnational networks can raise the level of ambition for mitigation, but less so for adaptation, where there are no quantitative targets or fixed target years. A science-based approach and a strong link to the regional sustainable development strategy provide a good degree of robustness, while tracking implementation and progress remains the most challenging factor. Good practices were also identified, based on the successful experiences of some Italian regions, which can be profitably transferred between regional authorities, but also to other sub-national governments.

A pendulum or a stopped clock? Rupture, continuity and political change in English sub-national government under Labour

This article discusses the most recent round of sub-national (i.e. local and regional) policy development under the incoming (2024) Labour Government. It unpacks the policy landscape which has tentatively emerged since the Starmer Government has taken office, and addresses the implications, questions and challenges which are immediately apparent. It suggests that, rather than simply tearing down the previous structures of sub-national governance, the incoming Labour Government is attempting to deepen those structures. Nevertheless, it therefore also concludes that many of the shortcomings and unanswered questions of the Conservative approach of the last decade therefore remain. The paper unpacks what this might mean for practitioners and researchers working in this area, contributing to emerging reflection on how the new government might be more effective in addressing the key challenges facing the United Kingdom.

India’s Energy and Fiscal Transition

Abstract This paper looks at India’s expected energy transition towards a low carbon future and studies how government revenues from fossil fuels will be affected over the next two decades. It takes the International Energy Association (2021) scenarios for India and studies how both tax revenues and non-tax revenues for national (central) and sub-national (state) governments would be affected. The study finds that under fairly standard assumptions on growth, prices, and taxes, there would be continued growth in revenues from fossil fuels till 2040; however, as a share of the GDP and overall government budget it would fall significantly and this would impose challenges for both the state and central governments in India. Moreover, since the central government is the greatest beneficiary of fossil fuels, it would face the brunt of the pressure. The paper also briefly discusses the possible impact of net zero and carbon taxes if India were to take that route, as well as how subsidies are expected to impact and be impacted by such considerations.

TRANSIÇÃO ENERGÉTICA, JUSTIÇA CLIMÁTICA E DIREITO À EXISTÊNCIA: CAMINHOS DA TRANSIÇÃO PARA SOCIEDADE HIPOCARBÔNICA E FUNÇÃO JURISDICIONAL NO IMBRÓGLIO DO CLIMA

The climate emergency has imposed a new agenda in the scope of international relations, bringing to regulation the need to reconcile fields of knowledge that are different from each other, such as law, the study of energy, issues of an economic, political and social nature, with multiple interests, agendas, claims that need to be modulated, not in favor of immediate interests, but equating in an equitable way the needs of present and future generations and, more broadly, of the conservation of life (human and non-human) on the planet. Thus, based on an approximation of the concepts of climate justice and energy transition, the text seeks to analyze the role of social, political, and economic agents and their actions at the global, regional, and subnational levels in creating possible solutions in this context of urgent needs of climate change. The text highlights how the capitalocene (era of capital in the interior of the Holocene) is responsible for an unprecedented crisis that threatens the existence of life on the planet. It was highlighted that the solutions to the problem posed are permeated by two needs, one immediate and rapid with the transition of use of clean, efficient and accessible technologies associated with another change or social transformation, this one deeper with an ontological basis in modern society, with the abandonment of utilitarianism and the estrangement of the human in relation to nature and the product of his work, with a turn towards a society of non-exploitation. In this perspective, the change in the human relationship with nature is reflected in the need for technologies that need to be more than sustainable, because it is no longer enough to be renewable, it is necessary that they are also clean – understood as low emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) – to be able to break the catastrophic future that lies ahead. In this context, given the need for regulation and the difficulty in promoting large global pacts for this purpose, such as the possibility of regional, bi- and multilateral regulations, they can play a more effective role in achieving global emissions targets. And so the hypothesis of unification of anti-systemic struggles for the formulation of a new low-carbon society arises, based on the concept of the right to existence (or the right to the material conditions of natural and social existence) highlighting that the sense of action of climate justice can establish a meeting of interests and the possibility of strategic use of climate litigation as a mechanism to induce public policies at the subnational levels, national and regional governments, so that they can contribute to the fight against climate change and to the construction of another society, low-carbon and anti-capitalist.

Industrial Specialization in China: Effects of Central Tools Governing Subnational Agency

Abstract We examine how the central government's management of subnational governments' agency influences the smartness of the latter's industrial specialization choices. Based on smart industrial specialization theory and agency theory, we hypothesize how two central government tools governing subnational governments' agency – facilitating their organizational efficacy and promoting their officials to higher ranks – explain recent industrial specialization choices by China's 31 provincial governments. We find that provincial governments with greater organizational efficacy, measured by access to better-resourced local state-owned enterprises in focal industries, make smarter specialization policies. In addition, we show that provincial governments with greater numbers of officials previously promoted to the central government make, contrary to conventional wisdom, potentially less smart specialization policies. Our research extends smart specialization theory by explaining that central government tools governing subnational agency problems can have knock-on effects making subnational governments' industrial specialization choices smart or unsmart.

Are Fiscal Transfers and Bail-Outs the Perpetrators? A Study on Moral Hazard Problem in Indian Federal Finance

The informational advantage of the sub-national governments in conjunction with central government’s involvement in bail-outs and financial assistance sometimes leads to negative incentives by relaxing the budget constraint. This produces moral hazard in terms of compromised fiscal behaviour; lower revenue effort, extravagance in expenditure, higher deficits and increased borrowings. At the same time, central assistance to low-performing states demotivates fiscally efficient states. The Indian fiscal federal structure and the fiscal transfer system are often criticized for prompting inefficiency and moral hazard in sub-national fiscal performance. Considering the issue of fiscal inefficiency in the Indian states, this study seeks to explore the fiscal mechanism of revenue effort, deficit, borrowing, capital outlay and revenue expenditure using a panel dataset of 28 states for the period 2000–2019. Accounting for the geographical and other disadvantages of the states, the findings of the panel-regression analysis confirm fiscal distress and the existence of soft-budget constraint and moral hazard in the Indian states. JEL Classification: H, H2, H21, H3, H7

Paradiplomacy and the role of subnational authorities in the implementation of diaspora policies. The case of decentralized cooperation between France and Mali

ABSTRACT This article critically reflects on the approach of non-state actors involved in migration policies by exploring the implementation of diaspora policies in sub-Saharan Africa. It builds on growing interest in diversity and local integration policies intended for sub-Saharan migrants in Europe. Indeed, since the mid-1980s, local authorities and scholars in European countries have focused their attention on local policy development for immigrants within their territories. This article contributes to the literature on international development and global governance of migration by questioning both origin and host countries subnational authorities’ use of international development in the governance of migrant communities. It demonstrates how diasporic practices and policies interact with the structure and paradiplomatic strategies of subnational authorities in countries of origin and destination. It also examines how, through these activities, diaspora actors have acquired a status as political entrepreneurs and a legitimacy for political intervention comparable to that of subnational authorities.