The significant influence of governors in the national policymaking process in Latin America can potentially generate uncoordinated and contradictory policies. Elected governors have a regional constituency, different from the national constituency of the president and national party leaders. Thus, unless political institutions and the party structure make the governors internalize the welfare of the national constituency, governors may have incentives to obtain advantages and resources from the center at the expense of nationwide goals such as macroeconomic stability.
Chapter in "How Democracy Works: Political Institutions, Actors, and Arenas in Latin American Policymaking" (Inter-American Development Bank and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, 2010).
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