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Subnational Inequality in Chile: Paths toward Effective Social Policy Implementation

Fri, May 29, 4:00 to 5:45pm, TBA

Abstract

Chile's 346 municipalities exhibit wide variation with regard to the ability of local governments to effectively implement social policies. These differences have profound effects on the depth of subnational inequality in the country. Drawing on household survey data, this paper presents a new measure of municipal administrative capacity. I then use the measure to develop a typology of Chilean municipalities. The findings suggest that Chilean municipalities fall into one of three ordinal categories: poor, moderately good, and excellent. Drawing on original field research, I then present and test a theory for why this variation exists. I find that municipalities exhibiting excellent administrative capacity are characterized by high levels of income and technocratic politics. Interestingly, there are two paths to moderately good administrative capacity, one that involves the presence of a long-term mayor who builds clientelistic networks alongside bureaucratic efficiency, and a second, which involves high levels of citizen participation and democratic demands upon local-level officials. By contrast, municipalities characterized by low levels of administrative capacity tend to be run by independent (non-institutionalized) political parties with strong patron-client relationships. Moreover, these municipalities are often located in remote rural areas of Chile.

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