Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

The concept of decentralization has continuously intrigued both scholars and practitioners for more than half a century. While there is a general agreement on what decentralization is, there is no consent about how it should be operationalized and measured. This article builds on the existing body of literature that specifies three major dimensions of decentralization: political, administrative, and economic. It offers a measurement model that unifies these dimensions in a meaningful manner that allows for comparison across countries.

The three-pronged model has been tested numerous times. The results are mixed. Schneider’s (2003) results suggest the existence of three distinct decentralization dimensions. However, Morozov’s (2016) results suggest a continuum of administrative-political dimension as a single facet interacting with the economic dimension of decentralization.

This manuscript is a follow up effort and response to the previously conducted research. The major contribution of this article is the newly expanded time frame of data and sample size. The proposed model is then empirically tested using confirmatory factor analysis of a data set of 110 countries over the period 2000-2017. The expanded timeframe of analysis includes the worst economic downturn since the World War II. Great Recession of 2007-2009 forced central governments to undertake unprecedented interventions in the economy. Conceptually, this suggests a tremendous centralization of the government. This phenomenon opens up opportunities for better understanding of decentralization and its true essence.