The Impact of Fiscal Decentralization on Economic Growth: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis Approach

The theoretical literature on fiscal decentralization has identified several channels for the impact of this policy on economic growth. Some studies emphasize the positive effect of fiscal decentralization on economic growth, while others consider it as a potential factor reducing economic growth following its implementation. Due to this theoretical ambiguity, several studies in recent decades have attempted to empirically examine the effect of fiscal decentralization on economic growth. The findings of these studies are diverse and, in some instances, contradictory. To examine and conclude from these different results, this study uses a multilevel meta-analysis approach. To do so, we conducted a comprehensive review of empirical studies in the relevant field and applied a meta-analysis protocol for data selection. Ultimately, we identified 23 cross-country studies comprising 506 regressions and 635 coefficients for analysis. Studies that deviated from the protocol or lacked sufficient information for data extraction were excluded. The combined results of these individual studies, after accounting for publication bias and moderator variables, reveal that fiscal decentralization has a small and positive effect on economic growth. In addition, the results of this study showed that the indicators used to measure fiscal decentralization and economic growth, the period and sample of the countries under review, and the presence or absence of variables such as human capital, physical capital, investment rate, foreign investment, tax revenue, education, unemployment rate, political stability, population growth, urbanization rate, and public sector size in the regression models utilized in individual studies Significantly contribute to explaining the heterogeneity observed in their findings.