 Jonathan T. Hiskey, Demand-Based Development and Local Electoral Environments in Mexico The nexus between regime type and development has long preoccupied scholars of the political economy of development. Investigation of this relationship has generally taken place at the cross-national level of analysis. In a world now dominated by a development strategy that seeks to empower local governments and community groups, an understanding of the development consequences of the local political environment is essential. This article examines the municipal development legacy of Mexico¡¯s principal demand-based poverty alleviation program of the early 1990s, the National Solidarity Program (PRONASOL). Examination of PRONASOL project outcomes across distinct local electoral environments provides strong support for the proposition that characteristics of local electoral regimes play an important role in the success or failure of the decentralized development strategy. |