Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Theorizing Dynamic De/Centralization in Federations

This paper develops a conceptual, methodological and theoretical framework for analyzing dynamic de/centralization in federations. It starts by briefly reviewing the literature and outlining the research design and methods adopted. It then conceptualizes static de/centralization and describes the seven-point coding scheme we have employed to measure it across twenty-two policy areas and five fiscal categories at ten-year intervals since the establishment of a federation. The subsequent section conceptualizes dynamic de/centralization as a process marked by changes in the distribution of power between the two orders of government in at least one policy or fiscal category and discusses its five main properties: direction, magnitude, form, tempo, and instruments. Drawing from several strands of the literature, in the last substantive section, the paper builds a theoretical framework that identifies seven categories of causal determinants of dynamic de/centralization, from which we derive a set of hypotheses for assessment.