Municipal finance in Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Hungary: institutional framework and recent development

• Published in: Most (Bologna, Italy) Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 143 - 164
• Main Authors: Nam, Chang Woon, Parsche, Rüdiger
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-01-2001
• Subjects: Central Government; Central-local government relations; Czech Republic; Decentralization; Economic policy; Financial Support; Fiscal Policy; Hungary; Institutionalism; Intergovernmental Relations; Local finance; Local Government; Poland; Public finance; Slovak Republic; Slovakia; Urban economics
• ISSN: 1120-7388
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1012218012967

The recent process of political & economic transition in Eastern European countries has not only contributed to the decentralization of political structure but also significantly enhanced the fiscal autonomy of municipalities in these countries. In this context many similar types of public activities have recently been assigned to local governments, & some taxes were also declared to be local taxes. To be sure, this type of fiscal decentralization has caused some additional problems, particularly for safeguarding the quality of publicly provided goods & services & for coordinating intergovernmental fiscal transfers between the central & local governments. For instance, some criticize that many small-sized municipalities in the transition economies have suffered from financial bottlenecks & have not been able to receive sufficient financial support from the central government. However, such a fiscal devolution trend appears to continue. This study primarily deals with issues surrounding the impact of national fiscal policy & the regulatory framework on local governments' expenditure behavior & their ability to mobilize necessary revenues under the particular consideration of the institutional & administrative cooperation with the central government & of the less well-developed financial markets in Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, & Hungary. 4 Tables, 46 References. Adapted from the source document.