scholarly journals Changes of Local Functions and Local Powers in Lithuania 1994–2016

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-420
Author(s):  
Gabrielė Burbulytė-Tsiskarishvili ◽  
Jaroslav Dvorak ◽  
Agnė Žernytė
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Local Functions ◽  
General Government ◽  
Local Discretion ◽  
Constant Growth

The interconnection of functions and powers at local level in Lithuania during the period of 1994-2016 is analysed in the article. Using the quantitative capacity methodological approach, the authors provide a novel research model based on the analysis of legal documents and statistical data. The analysis of legal documents, mainly the Law on Local Self-Government (1994) and its amendments, reveal the constant growth of local functions since the beginning of the period. However, the substantial part of the state’s delegated functions in the total of the local functions is the first indicator of the ruling influence of state on local government. To prove the limited capacities of local governments the indicators disclosing functional responsibilities and local discretion are calculated. Several trends reveal as the results of these calculations: (i) the steady trend of the deficit of the local budgets, meaning that municipalities have or to increase their debts, or to provide less services, or to provide services of less quality; (ii) the immutably small trend of local expenditures as the part of total general government expenditures and as the part of the GDP, meaning the stagnancy in the growth of functional responsibilities and low level of fiscal decentralization; (iii) the constant trend of significant state’s subsidies, meaning the constrained local discretion. These calculations prove that the increase of functional responsibilities at local level has not been accompanied by the increase of discretion, thus, the main conclusion of the research is that powers of local governments in Lithuania remain constrained despite the increase of functions.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.17.3.21955

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL DECENTRALIZATION AS A BASIS FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-202
Author(s):  
Tetiana Stroiko ◽  
Natalia Danik ◽  
Dmytro Prokofyev
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
Regional Administration ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Effective Option ◽  
High Level ◽  
Management Functions

The purpose of this article is to analyze the achieved results in the process of financial decentralization in Ukraine, with the further improvement of the methodology of its implementation for increasing the efficiency in the system of financial security of local budgets. Methodology. For the purpose of substantiation of directions of financial decentralization development in conditions of hromadas self-sufficiency the following modern methods of research are used: historical, dialectical method of knowledge, system analysis, abstractedly-logical, graphic, statistical.The object of the study is the processes of development of financial decentralization through the prism of self-sufficiency of hromadas. The theoretical basis of this research is the fundamental provisions of economic theory, national economy, state and regional administration, and theory of local finance.Results. It has been proved that the most effective option is when the population residing in a particular territory takes part in the implementation of management functions in the region, which requires significant financial resources to ensure the implementation of management responsibilities. It is for this purpose that the process of decentralization, which is a complex and multi-component process connected with fiscal decentralization, was initiated in Ukraine.It has been substantiated that for further effective reform it is necessary to solve the issue of changes in the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as in the administrative organization of the country.Practical implications. It is determined that the keynote of fiscal decentralization is the principle of fiscal equivalence, when the efficiency of a particular hromada is achieved through such a mechanism of formation of revenues to local budgets that the end consumer of public goods at the local level will be financially responsible for expenses, as well as their order, volume and priority, within the limits of taxes transferred to them. The tax system bottlenecks of personal income were identified.  It has been proven that the more freedom in setting the rates of local taxes and fees is given to local governments, the more there is an opportunity to set them at a level that will be suggested by local residents, because the hromada will demand at a high level of taxation a proper quality provision for their vital needs and, in addition, local government accountability. 

PROBLEMS OF LOCAL BUDGETS’ ORGANIZATION IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF FINANCIAL DECENTRALIZATION

2017 ◽  
pp. 29-41
Author(s):  
Yurij RADELYTSKYJ
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Intergovernmental Transfers ◽  
Financial Autonomy ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Local Budget ◽  
Expert Community

Introduction. Fiscal decentralization as the main vector of development of Ukraine in general and local government in particular has set scientific and expert community task of defining feasibility and effectiveness of the reforms and their compliance with requirements and needs of society. Purpose. Analysis of the tool of organization of local budgets in Ukraine due to decentralization process to define the main results of these innovations and make recommendations for improving the system. Results. Specific features of organization of local budgets in Ukraine in terms of local government reform are observed. It is made comparative analysis of formation and execution of local budgets before and after the reform. Peculiarities of formation of the revenue of local governments are examined. Tax revenue is defined as the main source of local budgets. It is analyzed the main characteristics of collection of major budget-taxes. The features of expenditure policies at the local level are investigated. The main problems of this process are defined. It is investigated the place and role of intergovernmental transfers as a part of local budgets. The features of forming of intergovernmental transfers and horizontal fiscal equalization of local budgets in consequence of financial decentralization are determined. General conclusions resulting from the study are made. Conclusion. Reform of the system of local budgets requires a comprehensive update of local government and simultaneous implementation of sectoral reforms. In the system of local budget revenues development and selection of algorithm of formation of a well-defined orientation to ensure financial autonomy and financial viability and its implementation on an ongoing basis is a priority. The task of reforming expenditure part of local budgets is orientation of financial resources to secure capital expenditures and implementing their own powers of local government.

scholarly journals Assessment of the level of local budget financial decentralization: Case of Ukraine

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47
Author(s):  
Nadiya Dekhtyar ◽  
Katarina Valaskova ◽  
Olga Deyneka ◽  
Nataliya Pihul
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Integrated Index ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
Local Budget ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Budget Execution

Further improvement of financial relations at the local level and the development of local budgets take place in the context of financial decentralization. This implies strengthening the role of local governments in attracting necessary financial resources to ensure socio-economic development of territories. The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of decentralization on the state of local budgets and to develop a scientific and methodological approach to assessing the level of financial decentralization of local budgets using the example of Ukraine for 2010–2019. The developed methodology consists of six successive stages. A comparative analysis of the dynamics of indicators of local budget execution in Ukraine in terms of revenues, expenditures and transfers using an integrated index obtained through taxonomic analysis is conducted. As a result of evaluating the effectiveness of the basic principles of financial decentralization, the expediency of calculating the integrated index of local budget financial decentralization is substantiated. This index is formed using intermediate indicators of autonomy to cover expenses and generate income both on the basis of own sources and taking into account the received state transfers for the implementation of their own and delegated powers of local governments. The implementation of the proposed method allow one to assess the levels of financial decentralization of local budgets to establish the degree of financial autonomy and financial self-sufficiency of the territories. The results obtained should be considered when determining the effectiveness of financial support for local budgets in the process of socio-economic development of regions.

scholarly journals The Dangers of Fiscal Decentralization and Public Service Delivery: a Review of Arguments

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helge Arends
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Context ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Service Provision

Abstract The prevailing belief is that local governments, which are closer to their citizens, can deliver public goods much more efficiently than a central government can. Yet skeptics argue that fiscal decentralization can be dangerous. The underlying motivation of this article is to review the basic rationale behind decentralizing public services from the perspective of three main controversies emerging from the literature on decentralization: (in)efficient, (un)equal, and (un)accountable service provision at the local level. For illustrative purposes, this review focuses on two complex and socially important sectors, health and education. The overall conclusion is that the dangers of decentralization are highly relevant to local public service provision, although there is evidence supporting both the decentralization-enthusiastic and the decentralization-skeptical views. When decentralizing public services, reformers should know the specificities of the public service, the local context, and the effects of the design of fiscal relations like the backs of their hands. If things go wrong, recentralization should be an option.

scholarly journals Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth in Thailand: A Cross-Region Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Phouthakannha Nantharath ◽  
Sirisak Laochankham ◽  
Peerasit Kamnuasilpa ◽  
Eungoo Kang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Regional Economic Growth ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Fiscal Imbalance ◽  
Vertical Fiscal Imbalance

Prior to the 1997 decentralization, over 90% of national revenue in Thailand were held at the central government and less than 10% of public expenditure were allocated to local governments across country. Lack of adequate revenue and access to sufficient expenditure budget has caused disparity and ineffectiveness of public services and economic development at the local level. This study examines the effects of the fiscal decentralization on the economic growth in Thailand from 2004 to 2017. The research methodology uses a cross panel data analysis across five provincial regions and considers revenue decentralization, expenditure decentralization, transfer dependency, and vertical fiscal imbalance as influential factors of growth. By applying Panel Fully Modified Least Squares (FMOLS) and Panel Dynamic Least Squares (DOLS) regression approaches, the study finds empirical evidence of positive effects of revenue decentralization, transfer dependency, and vertical fiscal imbalance on regional economic growth across five regions. However, this study also finds that expenditure decentralization has a negative impact on regional economic growth, but level of significance is weak. These findings suggest that the rapid increase in metropolis government expenditure budget following the years of political transition in 2006 and 2014 has caused stagnation in public investment at local level across country, thereby resulted in a lagged behind industrial output and gross provincial product. Lack of budget expenditures also weakens demand and stagnates growth in manufacturing, construction, and real estate activities, thereby rendering fiscal imbalances and development gaps in Thai economy.

scholarly journals Fiscal Decentralization and Gender Parity in Developing Asia

2021 ◽  
pp. 35-52
Author(s):  
Sidra Naeem ◽  
Mahnaz Muhammad Ali
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Gender Parity ◽  
And Gender ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Control Of Corruption

The traditional fiscal decentralization theorem claims that decentralized government can provide the goods and services at local level more efficiently. However, empirically it is still to explore that how fiscal decentralization affects gender parity. This study empirically investigates the impact of fiscal decentralization on gender parity in developing economies of Asia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand and Turkey. The study used dynamic penal da ta technique namely system GMM over the period of 2006-2020. The multidimensionality of fiscal decentralization is captured through three measures of fiscal decentralization i.e. expenditure decentralization, revenue decentralization and composite decentralization. Further, it also examines the complementarity between fiscal decentralization and control of corruption to increase the gender parity. The results of the analysis show that expenditure decentralization is increasing the gender parity in developing economies of Asia. Additionally, control of corruption is a necessary reform to get the desired fruits of fiscal decentralization. Countries must focus on corruption aspect of local governments in implementing the expenditure, revenue and composite decentralization.

scholarly journals The Effects of Fiscal Decentralization on General and Local Government Size: Does Composite Index Matter?

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-23
Author(s):  
Ebru CANIKALP ◽  
Taner TURAN ◽  
İlter ÜNLÜKAPLAN
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Government Size ◽  
Flypaper Effect ◽  
General Government ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

This article examines the impact of fiscal decentralization on the size of both general and local government using data for 36 countries over the period 1972–2019 and GMM. Our results consistently suggest that fiscal decentralization does not exert a significant impact on general government size. On the other hand, there exists a positive relationship between fiscal decentralization and local government size. We should note that our baseline regression results don’t significantly change when we use different fiscal decentralization indexes. Therefore, we don’t find any evidence for the argument that fiscal decentralization would be helpful to restrict the expansion of government size. Moreover, we present some evidence for the flypaper effect. Additionally, we find a positive relationship between the fiscal importance and local governments, interpreted as an indicator of expenditure competition instead of race to bottom.

Fiscal Decentralization in Transition Economies

2004 ◽  
pp. 126-141
Author(s):  
A. Chernyavsky ◽  
K. Vartapetov
Keyword(s):  
Public Finance ◽  
Transition Economies ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Government Control ◽  
Finance Reform ◽  
Fiscal Transfers ◽  
Fiscal Autonomy ◽  
Subnational Government ◽  
Tax Autonomy

By employing the methodology developed by the OECD the paper assesses the degree of revenue decentralization in Russia in comparison with other post-communist European countries. The paper provides theoretical arguments underpinning fiscal decentralization, analyzes the composition of subnational government revenues, the level of regional and local tax autonomy and types of intergovernmental fiscal transfers. The analysis presents the composition of revenues depending on the degree of subnational and local government control. In comparison with other transition countries fiscal decentralization in Russia is relatively low. It is concluded that Russia's public finance reform has not progressed towards providing greater fiscal autonomy for regional and local governments.

Spatial and Institutional Analysis of the Voivodships Expenditure on Culture in the Years 2003 – 2015

e-Finanse ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Adam Mateusz Suchecki
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Institutional Analysis ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Institutions ◽  
Location Quotient ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
National Heritage

AbstractFollowing the completion of the process of decentralisation of public administration in Poland in 2003, a number of tasks implemented previously by the state authorities were transferred to the local level. One of the most significant changes to the financing and management methods of the local authorities was the transfer of tasks related to culture and national heritage to the set of tasks implemented by local governments. As a result of the decentralisation process, the local government units in Poland were given significant autonomy in determining the purposes of their budgetary expenditures on culture. At the same time, they were obliged to cover these expenses from their own revenues.This paper focuses on the analysis of expenditures on culture covered by the voivodship budgets, taking into consideration the structure of cultural institutions by their types, between 2003-2015. The location quotient (LQ) was applied to two selected years (2006 and 2015) to illustrate the diversity of expenditures on culture in individual voivodships.

Incentives for the development of industrial parks (on the example of the border regions of Poland)

2020 ◽  
pp. 78-87
Author(s):  
Yaroslava Kalat
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Cost Minimization ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Financial Assistance ◽  
Industrial Park ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
Industrial Parks ◽  
Spatial Policy

In the search for efficient decisions directed at the stimulation of regional development and improvement of regions’ innovativeness and investment attractiveness, the EU regions have long ago started paying attention to local communities. In particular, Polish local governments are granted an opportunity to conduct an active spatial policy of investment attraction using various instruments. In this context, the industrial parks play an important role among the created institutes of the business environment, because they create advantages for local communities and businesses. In particular, they promote investment attraction, entrepreneurship activation, employment and jobs increase, material cost minimization, etc. At the same time, the development of entrepreneurship environment institutes requires support at national, regional, and local levels. The development will be almost impossible without the creation of proper legal, political, economic, and social conditions for their activity. The paper aims to define major stimuli of industrial park development based on the Polish experience, the economic structure of which is similar to the Ukrainian one. This will contribute to the development of the ways to boost industrial park development in Ukraine, especially in the border areas. For the matter, the author outlines the major instruments used by Polish local communities to boost investment and entrepreneurship activity in the framework of industrial park development. The scientific paper emphasizes the analysis of legislation on creation, functioning, and support of Polish industrial park development, and further perspectives of their activity. Special attention is paid to general characteristics of the condition of industrial parks located in Polish border regions. The advantages of each of them are determined and examples of their creation and development are given. The research resulted in the allocation of two groups of stimuli of industrial parks development which are the precondition, according to the author, of industrial parks becoming the instrument of investment attraction, economic boost of the territories, and entrepreneurship activity growth: the stimuli of development of industrial parks’ organizational structure (public financial assistance; information and advisory support; grans of European funds; international cooperation / partnership; independent spatial policy at the local level) and the stimuli of entrepreneurship development in industrial parks (infrastructure (physical and soft); public financial assistance; tax incentives; investment grants; financial loans).

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