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IDEAGOV · International Center for Decentralization and Governance

IDEAGOV is the International Center for Decentralization and Governance: a global hub for research and policy dialogue in Europe and worldwide.

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  • IDEAGOV International Conference 2026 brings together leading scholars to discuss fiscal equalization and decentralized governance – Over two days, on 4–5 November 2026, the IDEAGOV International Conference 2026 – Equalization in Decentralized Governance brought together international researchers and experts at the Consello Económico e Social de Galicia (CES) in Santiago de Compostela to examine the economic, political and institutional dimensions of fiscal equalization. Organized by IDEAGOV and the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), in collaboration with the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Georgia State...
  • IDEAGOV-Local 2026 brings the reform of local government financing into focus – The Pazo de Mariñán hosted IDEAGOV-Local 2026, a meeting devoted to the reform of local government financing and the proposed reform of the Galician Local Administration Law (LALGA). Organized by IDEAGOV, the International Center for Decentralization and Governance at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, with the support of the Deputación da Coruña, the meeting brought together researchers, public officials and representatives of local government to discuss the legal, financial and...
  • IDEAGOV Special Issue on Asymmetric Decentralization Published in The Annals of Regional Science – The research presented at the IDEAGOV International Conference on “Asymmetric Federalism: The Perils and Advantages of Asymmetric Decentralization Arrangements”, held in Santiago de Compostela on November 5–6, 2025, has now contributed to a special issue of The Annals of Regional Science. The special issue, “Asymmetric Federalism: The Perils and Advantages of Asymmetric Decentralization Arrangements,” brings together comparative and interdisciplinary research examining how asymmetric...
  • IDEAGOV International Conference 2026: Equalization in Decentralized Governance – Place: Santiago de Compostela, Galicia Date: 4-5 November 2026 From November 4th to 5th, IDEAGOV (International Center for DEcentralization And GOVernance) will host its 2026 International Conference, Equalization in Decentralized Governance. The conference will take place at the Sala do Pleno of the Consello Económico e Social de Galicia (CES) in Santiago de Compostela and is organized by IDEAGOV in collaboration with researchers from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Universitat...
  • IDEAGOV Local 2026 - Reform of Local Government Financing System – On 18 September 2026, IDEAGOV will hold the IDEAGOV-LOCAL 2026 meeting at the Pazo de Mariñán (Bergondo, A Coruña). This year's edition will focus to the analysis of municipalities' participation in regional revenues (PICA) and the reoform of the Galician Local Administration Law (LALGA). The event will bring together leading academics, policymakers and institutional representatives to discuss the legal, financial and governance implications of the proposed reform, fostering dialogue between...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – A new contribution to the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series examines one of the most pressing long-term challenges facing European public finances: population ageing. In "The Impact of Population Ageing on Public Finances in the EU-27", María Cadaval-Sampedro, Santiago Lago-Peñas, Xoaquín Fernández-Leiceaga and Alejandro Domínguez-Lamela (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela) analyse how demographic change affects age-related public expenditure across the European Union. Using data from the 27...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – A new contribution to the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series investigates the role of political and technocratic actors in shaping citizens’ attitudes towards public policies. In “Technocratic vs Partisan Framing in Regional Fiscal Politics: Experimental Evidence from Spain”, María Cadaval-Sampedro, Santiago Lago-Peñas, Xoaquín Fernández-Leiceaga and Alejandro Domínguez-Lamela (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela) analyse how the source of a policy proposal influences public opinion in a...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – The latest addition to the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series explores how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped electoral behaviour and political accountability across different systems of government. The paper, entitled “Who's in Charge? Understanding Rallying and Accountability in the COVID-19 Pandemic”, is authored by Ignacio Lago (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) and Santiago Lago-Peñas (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela). The paper investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced electoral behaviour...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “Revenue Decentralization and Vertical Fiscal Imbalance: A Survey,” authored by Manuel E. Lago (Paris School of Economics), Santiago Lago-Peñas (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela), Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (Georgia State University) and Cristian Sepulveda (Farmingdale State College). This paper offers a comprehensive and up-to-date survey of subnational revenue autonomy and vertical fiscal imbalances (VFI) in...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “Asymmetric Decentralization in France: A Municipal-Centered Exception,” authored by Guy Gilbert (ENS Paris-Saclay), Thierry Madiès (University of Fribourg) and Sonia Paty (University of Lyon 2, GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne). The paper analyzes asymmetric decentralization through the specific case of France, a unitary state that has developed distinctive forms of territorial asymmetry. Unlike cases where asymmetry...
  • International Conference on Democracy and Global Governance Concludes Successfully in Santiago de Compostela – The International Conference on Democracy and Global Governance successfully concluded, bringing together leading international scholars and institutional representatives to reflect on the most pressing challenges facing contemporary democracies. Organized by IDEAGOV and Foro Economico de Galicia, the Conference provided a high-level forum for the analysis of political polarisation, institutional resilience, and the global reconfiguration of governance. The opening session featured...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “Asymmetric Decentralization and Inequality”, authored by Pablo Beramendi (Duke University) and Melissa Rogers (Claremont Graduate University). This paper explores how the organization of power in decentralized systems affects economic inequality. It examines how spatial inequalities and asymmetric decentralization interact to shape redistributive policies and progressive taxation. The study shows that not all...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “Asymmetric decentralisation and municipal governance in South Africa.” authored by Nara Monkam (University of Pretoria) and Panashe G. Taruvinga (University of Pretoria). The paper examines how asymmetric decentralisation affects service delivery within South Africa’s local government system. Although municipalities belong to a single constitutional sphere, differentiated expenditure responsibilities and revenue...
  • International Conference on Democracy and Global Governance: 21st Century Challenges – Place: CEA – Centro de Estudos Avanzados, Parque de Vista Alegre, Santiago de Compostela Date: 9 March 2026 On 9 March 2026, the Centro de Estudos Avanzados (CEA) in Santiago de Compostela will host the international conference “Democracy and Global Governance: 21st Century Challenges”, bringing together leading scholars and institutional representatives to discuss some of the political and governance challenges of our time. The event will count with the collaboration and support of the Foro...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “The Delicate Balance of Special Autonomy Agreements: Lessons from Indonesia and the Philippines”, authored by Sarah Shair-Rosenfield (University of York). The paper examines whether asymmetric decentralisation can fulfil its dual promise of granting meaningful regional self-governance while maintaining peace and territorial integrity in deeply divided societies. While asymmetric arrangements are often promoted as...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “Heterogeneous fiscal decentralisation in Italian regions”, authored by Carlo Gianelle (European Commission, DG REGIO), Agnese Sacchi (University of Urbino; IDEAGOV) and Simone Salotti (European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Seville). The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of Italy’s fiscal decentralisation process, which is characterised by persistent and institutionalised asymmetries between regions...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “Asymmetric Decentralization: Nature and Determinants” , authored by Santiago Lago-Peñas (USC, IDEAGOV, CISPAC), María Cadaval-Sampedro (USC, IDEAGOV), Jorge Martínez-Vázquez (Georgia State University, IDEAGOV) and Ana Herrero-Alcalde (UNED, IDEAGOV). This paper provides a systematic empirical analysis of the nature and determinants of asymmetric decentralization using information from the Regional...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled Perceptions of legitimacy in asymmetric decentralisation: evidence from Spain , authored by Caroline Gray (Aston University). The paper analyses the conditions under which asymmetric decentralisation arrangements sustain or undermine the legitimacy of the territorial model among regions that operate under the standard framework. While existing research has largely focused on whether asymmetry accommodates...
  • New Working Paper in the IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV is pleased to announce the publication of a new Working Paper entitled “An Economic Perspective on Asymmetric Federalism in Canada: The Case of Québec” , authored by François Vaillancourt , (Université de Montréal). The paper examines the unique policy choices adopted by Québec since the post–World War II period and analyses their institutional and economic implications. As one of the most autonomous subnational governments in industrialised countries, Québec provides a particularly...
  • New WP in IDEAGOV Working Paper Series – IDEAGOV releases a new Working Paper by Luiz de Mello (OECD) and João Tovar Jalles (Universidade de Lisboa) titled Parable of the Talents: Does Differentiated Decentralisation Improve Performance? . This study explores whether asymmetric decentralization (greater policy authority to selected regions) leads to stronger economic performance. Using harmonized OECD regional data from 1995 to 2021, the authors found that, while regions with more autonomy tend to have higher income levels,...

Working papers

Publications

People

  • Gabriel Abilleira-Rodriguez
  • Xurxo Doval Blanco
  • Javier Suarez-Pandiello
  • Alejandro Domínguez-Lamela
  • Manuel E. Lago
  • José María Tubío Sánchez
  • Pedro Camões
  • Charles Hankla
  • Claudia Nancy Avellaneda
  • Roy Bahl
  • Pablo Beramendi
  • André Blais
  • Robin Boadway
  • María Cadaval-Sampedro
  • Ruth Dassonneville
  • Luiz de Mello
  • Maria Escobar-Lemmon
  • Xoaquín Fernández-Leiceaga
  • Sona Golder
  • Juan Luis Gómez-Reino
  • Linda Gonçalves-Veiga
  • Timothy J. Goodspeed
  • Caroline Gray
  • Ana Herrero-Alcalde
  • Miriam Hortas-Rico
  • Ignacio Lago
  • Mariely Lopez-Santana
  • David Lublin
  • Thierry Madiès
  • Ferran Martinez-Coma
  • Jorge Martínez-Vázquez
  • Nicola McEwen
  • Nara Monkam
  • Fabio Padovano
  • Sonia Paty
  • Serafín Pazos-Vidal
  • Yvon Rocaboy
  • Jonathan Rodden
  • Andrés Rodríguez-Pose
  • Melissa Rogers
  • Violeta Ruiz-Almendral
  • Agnese Sacchi
  • Cristian F. Sepúlveda
  • Sarah Shair-Rosenfield
  • Enid Slack
  • Paul Smoke
  • Jiří Špalek
  • Laura Stephenson
  • Teresa Ter-Minassian
  • João Tovar Jalles
  • François Vaillancourt
  • Sally Wallace
  • Santiago Lago-Peñas

Partners

  • International Center for Public Policy
  • McGill Centre for the Study of Federalism
  • Condorcet Center for Political Economy at Université de Rennes I
  • Centre on Constitutional Change at the University of Edinburgh
  • Ibero-American Association for Local Financing
  • European Consortium for Political Research
  • American Political Science Association
  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  • BBVA Foundation
  • Institute for Fiscal Studies
  • Xunta de Galicia

People · Partners · Publications · Working Papers · Activities · News · RIFDE

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