Launch of the EDR "Renewed Energies: A just energy transition for sustainable development"
EDR: Nearby solutions: The role of regional and local governments in Latin America and the Caribbean
About the report...
Learn about and download the CAF RED: Nearby solutions: the role of local and regional governments in Latin America and the CaribbeanThe decentralization process that has taken place over the last four decades in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has enhanced the relevance of local and regional governments. As a result of their expanded powers, these governments now address a variety of key issues for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Their work is crucial in urban infrastructure, education, health and citizen security, and encompasses cross-cutting aspects of the development agenda, such as gender equity and environmental sustainability.
Bringing decision-making closer to citizens through decentralization holds the promise of improving the quality of government and public services. Such proximity can facilitate the identification of local needs and more direct social control. In addition, the proliferation of autonomous subnational governments enables a greater diversity of practices from which to learn and select the best. But decentralization also implies important challenges related to the definition of attributions, interjurisdictional coordination and, especially, the development of government capacities in the territories.
Evidence in the region shows that some of the benefits of decentralization have been realized. Regional and local governments are well established as a result of decentralization.
This edition of the Economy and Development Report (RED) has two main objectives. First, to document the landscape of local and regional governments in terms of their powers, resources and practices, on which systematized information is surprisingly scarce. And second, to identify areas and opportunities for capacity building that are important for improving service delivery by these governments.

Contents

Roadmap for this chapter:
- The territorial organization of governments in LAC
- Territorial challenges: Urbanization and development gaps
- Challenges of global trends: Climate change and digitalization
- Origins and recent evolution of territorial organization
Authors: Guillermo Alves; Gustavo Fajardo

Roadmap for this chapter:
- Degree and evolution of local and regional governments’ autonomy
- Patterns in the allocation of functions across government levels
- Urban planning and local government functions
- Responsibilities in education, health, and security
- The roles of subnational governments and Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Guillermo Alves; Gustavo Fajardo

Roadmap for this chapter:
- The level and composition of subnational government spending in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Budgetary rigidities faced by subnational governments.
- Mechanisms to improve the quality of subnational government spending.
Authors: Pablo Brassiolo; Rodrigo Cifuentes

Roadmap for this chapter:
- Level and composition of subnational public investment in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Challenges in the efficiency of planning and executing subnational projects.
- Financing mechanisms and regulation of subnational government borrowing.
- Strategies to improve intergovernmental coordination and strengthen institutional capacities.
Authors: Pablo Brassiolo

Roadmap for this chapter:
- Structure of subnational government revenues in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Characteristics of subnational tax revenues and action areas.
- Status of transfer systems and action areas.
Authors: Carolina Camacho; Ricardo Estrada

Roadmap for this chapter:
- Distribution of responsibilities in fee-based service provision across government levels
- Local capacities for regulating and modernizing bus systems
- Challenges faced by subnational governments in providing water and sanitation services
- Mechanisms for interjurisdictional coordination and metropolitan governance in the region
Authors: Guillermo Alves; Gustavo Fajardo

Roadmap for this chapter:
- An overview of subnational bureaucracies
- Gender and ethnic gaps in public employment and elected positions
- Challenges in building highquality subnational bureaucracies
- Regulatory framework
- Entry mechanisms for public service, wage premiums, and training
- Local electoral systems
Authors: Ricardo Estrada

Roadmap for this chapter:
- Adoption of technologies for internal process management
- Digitalization of procedures and services for citizens and businesses
- Use of technologies to manage city and urban services
- Structural factors enabling the adoption of digitalization strategies
Authors: Florencia Buccari; Gustavo Fajardo
Atlas of local and regional governments in Latin America and the Caribbean
Discover the reality of more than 18,000 local and regional governments in 33 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. Explore key indicators on demographics, development, education, and the labor market.
This platform is an initiative of the Socioeconomic Research Directorate with the support of the Urban Development, Water, and Creative Economies Management of CAF — Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Meet the authors

Carolina Camacho
Chief Economist, Directorate of Macroeconomic Studies at CAF

Guillermo Alves
Principal Economist, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF

Gustavo Fajardo
Principal Economist, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF

Pablo Brassiolo
Senior Economist, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF

Ricardo Estrada
Principal Economist, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF

Florencia Buccari
Executive, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF

Rodrigo Cifuentes
Chief Economist, Directorate of Macroeconomic Studies at CAF
Carolina Camacho

Chief Economist, Directorate of Macroeconomic Studies at CAF
Carolina Camacho holds a Master's degree in Public Administration and International Development from Harvard University, a Master's degree in Economics from Universidad de los Andes, and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the same university. She is a senior economist at CAF's Directorate of Macroeconomic Studies. Previously, she held positions at Banco de la República and FLAR and was director of sectoral policy at the Colombian Ministry of Agriculture.
Guillermo Alves

Principal Economist, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF
Gustavo Fajardo

Principal Economist, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF
Pablo Brassiolo

Senior Economist, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF
Ricardo Estrada

Principal Economist, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF
Florencia Buccari

Executive, Socioeconomic Research Department at CAF
She holds a Master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of Nottingham (UK) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the National University of Córdoba. She joined CAF’s research team in 2021, where she has worked on sustainable development, state capacity, and digitalization. Previously, she worked as a consultant in the private sector and as an advisor in Argentina’s public sector.
Rodrigo Cifuentes

Chief Economist, Directorate of Macroeconomic Studies at CAF