Whither Decentralization: Implications for Linking Research and Practice

This is the Presidential Address at the 2006 Annual Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association, March 30-April 1, St. Augustine, Florida. It discusses the status of fiscal decent ralization in the academic literature and as a matter of policy focus. Although “fiscal decentralization is in vogue” (Oates, 1999, p. 1120), the mechanisms by which it influences economic growth are not well enough understood to provide policy guidance. The conclusion spells out the steps for researchers and policy makers in gaining a better understanding of the implications and processes associated with fiscal decentralization.