Federalism, Decentralization, and Reproductive Rights in Argentina and Chile

Susan Franceschet and Jennifer M. Piscopo

Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 2013, vol. 43, issue 1, 129-150

Abstract: Through a comparison of federal Argentina and unitary Chile, we ask whether federalism explains subnational protections of women's reproductive rights. We explore two factors: policy jurisdictions under decentralization and party system territorialization under federalism. We find that, under decentralization, subunits in both countries enjoy autonomy in funding and delivering health care. Yet, decentralization does not explain why specific subunits comply with national policies while others deviate. We argue that federalism, in allowing party system fragmentation, makes subunit leaders more responsive to local concerns, especially when subunits vary in their principled opposition to or support for contraception. When party systems are centralized, as in unitary states, partisan allegiances better predict patterns of compliance and defiance. Thus, federalism matters for understanding patterns in the subnational variation of policy outcomes. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2013
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