Abstract:
This article explores the operationalization of the financial paradiplomacy in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. We analyzed institutional change in three periods (1987-1990, 2007-2010 and 2011-2014) to understand the characteristics of the institutions that were created and modified. This involved asking questions about the capacity of these institutions to attract financial resources from abroad, and how funds were raised through international financial operations. Our main hypothesis is that institutions responsible for financial paradiplomacy were key actors in the efforts of the state of Rio Grande do Sul to raise revenues. To test this hypothesis, we carried out qualitative case study research and process tracing based on the analysis of documentation and financial data and on semi-structured interviews. We explored the creation and evolution of two agencies responsible for the financial paradiplomacy (SEAI and DCP). We identified three forms of institutional change: a process of institutional drift that modified each agency (SEDAI and DECAP); a process of institutional displacement, leading to the division of SEDAI into three new institutions (ACRI, SDPI and SESAMPE); and a process of institutional conversion affecting DECAP. We also found, from the interviews, that the effectiveness of financial paradiplomacy in the state was directly affected by three interrelated factors: (i) personalism; (ii) the state’s creditworthiness and repayment capacity; and (iii) the restriction on the financial institutions allowed to co-finance state government projects.
Keywords:
Paradiplomacy; Rio Grande do Sul; International Relations; Institutional Change
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Elaboração Própria.