States, Alliances, and Subnational Inequality: Two Argentine Provinces in Comparative Perspective, 2003-2015

Inequality is unevenly distributed across the territory and national averages obscure this variation. This study investigates which subnational level factors can help explain differences in inequality among districts. It analyzes how subnational coalitions resist or support national governments' redistributive policies. The main argument is that the type of national governing alliance (regressive or progressive) affects the level of provincial inequality, but mediated by the type of subnational coalition that supports or resists that national policy. This work empirically examines this claim analyzing the configurations of the national and subnational distributive alliances in two Argentine provinces and in relation to labor rights regulations in the agricultural sector between 2003 and 2015.