Local Government Finance and Decentralization
Local Government Finance and Decentralization is a research topic within Political Science and International Relations. Science Explorer counts 22k research works in it since 1950. 33.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the topic of fiscal decentralization and governance, with a focus on political economy and the provision of local public goods. It covers aspects such as intergovernmental fiscal relations, tax competition, economic growth, and the impact of decentralization on development. The papers analyze the implications of fiscal decentralization for local government, accountability, and service delivery.
- Fiscal Decentralization
- Governance
- Political Economy
- Local Public Goods
- Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations
- Tax Competition
- Economic Growth
- Public Sector Decentralisation
- Local Government
- Development
- Research works
- 22k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 7.2k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 33.2% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +6% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Local Government Finance and Decentralization research?
By volume, the United States and China publish the most (446 and 379 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 446 works
- 2 China 379 works
- 3 Indonesia 317 works
- 4 Brazil 137 works
- 5 United Kingdom 111 works
- 6 Germany 104 works
- 7 Spain 92 works
- 8 Italy 75 works
- 9 India 68 works
- 10 Türkiye 63 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Local Government Finance and Decentralization research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy publishes the most Local Government Finance and Decentralization research, followed by University of Brawijaya and University of Indonesia.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Institute for Peace Research and Security PolicyGermany 22 works
- 2 University of BrawijayaIndonesia 17 works
- 3 University of IndonesiaIndonesia 15 works
- 4 Peking UniversityChina 14 works
- 5 Tribhuvan UniversityNepal 14 works
- 6 Fudan UniversityChina 13 works
- 7 Renmin University of ChinaChina 13 works
- 8 London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom 12 works
- 9 Fundação Getulio VargasBrazil 12 works
- 10 Tsinghua UniversityChina 11 works
Who are the leading researchers in Local Government Finance and Decentralization?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Local Government Finance and Decentralization include Edward L. Glaeser and Alberto Alesina.
- 1 Edward L. Glaeser United States 3k citations
- 2 Alberto Alesina United States 2.6k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Local Government Finance and Decentralization research done?
The largest centres of Local Government Finance and Decentralization research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Washington D.C. (United States) and London (United Kingdom). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Kathmandu and Hamburg.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- KathmanduNP · 21.3 works7.6×
- HamburgDE · 24.3 works5.2×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Local Government Finance and Decentralization than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Local Government Finance and Decentralization?
Among universities, judged by research, Renmin University of China, London School of Economics and Political Science and Tribhuvan University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renmin University of ChinaChina | 68.6 | 59.7% | 13.0× | 13 | -9.9% |
| 2 | London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom | 63.3 | 44.3% | 17.6× | 12 | -45.1% |
| 3 | Tribhuvan UniversityNepal | 59.8 | 9.5% | 11.0× | 14 | +236.8% |
| 4 | Central University of Finance and EconomicsChina | 59.6 | 55.0% | 30.1× | 10 | -43.4% |
| 5 | Fundação Getulio VargasBrazil | 53.0 | 27.0% | 38.7× | 12 | +4.5% |
| 6 | University of BrawijayaIndonesia | 52.9 | 15.6% | 6.5× | 17 | +348.4% |
| 7 | University of MinhoPortugal | 51.9 | 35.5% | 8.7× | 9 | +14.1% |
| 8 | University of IndonesiaIndonesia | 50.5 | 32.7% | 4.1× | 14 | +912.5% |
| 9 | Fudan UniversityChina | 48.1 | 51.9% | 3.9× | 13 | +6.3% |
| 10 | Zhejiang UniversityChina | 47.7 | 66.8% | 1.8× | 10 | +61.2% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Local Government Finance and Decentralization research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 6% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2022. The fastest-growing topics are Local Government Finance and Decentralization.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.