La equidad electoral formal en las entidades federativas: México (1996-2007)

the paper examines the formal rules of electoral governance in mexico's federal states. for this purpose, an index of "formal electoral fairness" is developed. it shows how conditions for free and fair elections are established through improvements in the electoral laws at the sub-national level from 1996 to 2007. using a regression model for panel data, the analysis finds evidence that local politics do matter for explaining the quality of legal electoral fairness. the paper concludes by discussing a research agenda which aims at a better understanding of the development and functioning of the electoral governance at the sub-national level in mexico.