Comparative analysis of fiscal autonomy of large cities: case studies of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina


Commissioned by: The Institute of Economics, Zagreb
Project duration: February 17, 2017 – September 30, 2017 
Project manager: Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, PhD
Collaborators: Emira Bečić, Sabina Hodžić


Brief outline: 
In the last several decades, many European countries have attempted to increase the autonomy of local governments to strenghten their responsibilities and to strenghten the system of good governance in the country. The goal of this project was the measurement and comparative analysis of the fiscal autonomy of large cities in three SEE countries – Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina – and determining the extent to which fiscal autonomy affected smart local dvelopment. The main results of this project were: 
 
  • determining to what extent the structure of large cities' budget constrained local development in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • comparing the level of local fiscal autonomy of large cities in relation to all local government units in each of these countries
  • determining the index of fiscal control of large cities in three SEE countries
  • identifying the main obstacles
  • providing recommendations to improve smart local development in three SEE countries. 

The originality of this research was in the fact that it represented one of the first attempts at measuring the fiscal autonomy of large cities in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in comparison with other local units in respective countries. A unique contribution of this research was scientific evidence about the limitations of the role and importance of large cities resulting from the way they were financed (fiscal and financial dimension) and other important dimensions of autonomy (functional, organizational and political). In addition, the results of this research could serve policy decision-makers in proposing adequate fiscal decisions in the adoption of appropriate measures to promote smart, locally led development. 
 

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