Intergovernmental Relations
Decentralization promises to enhance efficiency but also risks increasing spatial inequality. Prof Warner’s Local Government Restructuring Lab explores these issues through state and national surveys and spatial modeling, with support from the US Dept of Agriculture. Special attention is given to the role of the subnational state in limiting the finance and policy authority of local governments. Prof. Warner’s theory of pragmatic municipalism recognizes how local governments balance fiscal constraints and local service needs.
