Limiting to 46 countries before 1990, scholars find that fiscal decentralization, measured by the subnational share of total government spending ( Davoodi Zou, 1998 ) , has negative relationships with economic growth in developing countries, the finding further confirmed in the case of china, with data from 28 provinces before 1992 ( Zhang Zou, 1998 ) . In contrast, using a similar sample of 52 countries between 1997 and 2001, limi ( 2005 ) finds positive and significant relationships between fiscal decentralization and economic growth, consistent with some other studies. Taking into the extent of the independent taxing powers enjoyed by subnational governments, a study of 19 OECD countries show no significant relationships at all.