Publications and work in progress
My current research interests are related to
Poverty and Development
Together with Beatriz Magaloni and Federico Estevez, we are writing a book on PRONASOL, the poverty relief program implemented in Mexico from 1988 to 1994. You can access the tentative index of the book here. A paper providing an overview of our findings was prepared as a background paper for the World Bank World Development Report 2004. This other working paper provides an assessment of the effects of Pronasol on the provision of local public goods (also see the work on clientelism below).
I also want to understand the political underpinnings of the provision of public goods at the local level, particularly those that enhance well-being throught improved sanitation, health and education. My first thinking on these issues is reflected in this workins paper.
I have thought quite a bit on this issue in the context of Mexico. You can take a look at a paper on social development in Mexico (in Spanish) prepared for the Economic Commission in Latin America (ECLA); a background paper for the report on Human Development Report 2004 in Mexico (you can access the previous report too), and a paper on urban poverty prepared also for ECLA (you can access a powerpoint presentation with some nice maps).
Beatriz Magaloni, Barry Weingast and I are also working on the perverse effects of land reform in Mexico. Although the version is quite preliminary, you can access a draft of our joint work.
Federalism
I have been working on Federalism for more than a decade. You can access the full text of my 1995 book Desarrollo Economico e Inequidad Regional: Hacia un Nuevo Pacto Federal en Mexico (in Spanish).
The manuscript of my book Federalism, Fiscal Authority and Centralization in Latin America, forthcoming in Cambridge University Press, compares the evolution of Mexican fiscal centralization in the 20th century with Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. The Mexico section of the book is based on my dissertation, which won the Political Economy section award at APSA. You can access a paper on the limits of redistribution in federal systems in Latin America, published in Gestión y Política Pública.
Some years back I wrote a paper with Jacqueline Martinez
that explores the role of Budgets
and local governments. This is a relatively neglected topic in the
studies of federalism and municipalities in Mexico.
The World Bank published a book
which is a good overview of the status of fiscal federalism in Mexico.
I coauthored three chapters: one on the history
of fiscal federalism; another on transfers;
and a third on tax assignment.
A recent update on my thinking on the prospects for reform of Mexican
federalism, from a policy perspective, can be found in a paper
jointly written with Fernando Rojas and Jose Antonio Gonzalez. You can
also access a paper on
the formation of coalitions (in Spanish) for the reform of Mexican
federalism, published in Política y Gobierno.
A brief statement on what is to be done on fiscal federalism (in Spanish)
was published by CIDAC in a book on fiscal reform in Mexico and is available
here. My
current thinking on the reform of fiscal federalism, and the Convencion
Nacional Hacendaria is reflected in this paper;
while a paper on the evolution of CONAGO and the role of governors as
a pressure group can be accessed here.
Mexico
Jointly with Beatriz Magaloni I wrote a paper on budgetary authority in Mexico, which provides some tentative explanation for the degree of budgetary discretion observed in the federal budget.
With Joy Langston I have been working on a project on Mexican governors. We have completed a paper on gubernatorial nomination.
If you're interested in the workings of the Mexican Senate here's a paper on the topic, using a Monte Carlo simulation of partisan control of that legislative body.
An overview of Mexico's process of decentralization and federalism published in a book edited by Kevin Middlebrook can be accessed here.
Beatriz Magaloni, Barry Weingast and I have been working on a project on the perversity of hegemonic rule. You can see a version of our paper on PRI hegemony here; an abridged version of the main argument of that paper was published in the Hoover Digest.
For additional links on Mexico click here.
Clientelism
One of my main concerns is related to the political economy of vote buying, patronage and development. You can access a version of a paper, with Beatriz Magaloni and Federico Estévez, viewing clientelism as a portfolio of risky assets presented at APSA in 2001.
The portfolio approach to study clientelism is further developed in this paper, The Erosion of Party Hegemony, Clientelism and Portfolio Diversification: The Programa Nacional de Solidaridad (PRONASOL) in Mexico, and the paper Electoral Risk and Redistribution in Mexico and the United States, comparing the New Deal with Pronasol spending.
Beatriz and I have written a couple of background papers for the World Development Report 2004, which deal with the literature on the political economy of vote buying, and the specific work we have done on Pronasol.
I organized, together with Beatriz Magaloni, a conference on Accountability and Rule of Law in Mexico. A rough draft of the conclusion for the book we are editing is available too (please do not quote until we get the final revised version).