Marcelo Giugale

Steven Benjamin Webb

The three forces of democratization, decentralization, and development have swept the world over the last decade and redrawn the maps of politics, power, and prosperity. Modern Mexico has been fully engaged in the trio, making it a rich case study. In recent years, enhanced political competition has redistributed decisionmaking across all levels of government, making the government more accountable to the average citizen. It has also given subnational governments a renewed role as economic agents. The taxation, spending, borrowing, and institutions of Mexican states and municipalities are now increasingly under the rigor of market discipline. The combined, closer scrutiny of voters and financiers is creating a new incentive framework for policymakers-a framework where necessary reforms become both inescapable and, more importantly, a perceived source of potential reward. This book is the product of the analytical work of a large number of experts, Mexican and foreign. In the book, the experts document Mexico's decentralization experience; conceptualize its main trends, policies, and options; and bring it into the light of international comparison. They distill critical lessons and challenges that are of relevance for Mexico, for Latin America and, generally, for countries that are embarking on far reaching decentralization efforts. This renders the volume a major contribution to our knowledge and thinking in this area; and a timely one, since decentralization is an irreversible process that is likely to continue occupying policymakers for years to come.

Lessons from Mexico

Achievements and Challenges of Fiscal Decentralization

Senior Economis in the Latin American and the Caribbean Department Steven B Webb

Tracing the links between the monetary phenomena of the post-World War I German inflation and its political roots, this study provides a non-technical explanation of the economics of inflation and explores the political events and institutions that contributed to the Weimar Republic's economic difficulties. Webb discusses such topics as Reichsbank credit and monetary policy; output and unemployment; government revenue and spending; capitalism, democracy, and reparations; and the political economy of Reichsbank policy.

Steven Benjamin Webb

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