Project description:
The FISDEC project examines fiscal decentralization in Croatia with the aim of understanding its impact on the functioning of local government units, local economic development, the efficiency of public service provision, income inequality, and fiscal sustainability. The research covers all Croatian municipalities and cities, and, where relevant, counties, with particular emphasis on the role of fiscal autonomy and fiscal transfers in shaping regional development disparities.
The project is based on an innovative and interdisciplinary approach that integrates economics, geography, political science, public administration, and sociology. By combining quantitative, econometric, and spatial methods, the project analyses the geographical distribution of fiscal resources, levels of fiscal autonomy, intergovernmental transfers, and local government debt, thereby identifying spatial patterns and local development dynamics.
From a methodological perspective, the project applies advanced analytical tools, including spatial econometrics, geospatial analysis (GIS), the measurement of efficiency in local public service provision, and dynamic panel models. The research results will be consolidated into a single, publicly accessible database on fiscal decentralization in Croatia.
The scientific and societal contribution of the project lies in the provision of empirically grounded insights relevant to understanding and further discussion of fiscal decentralization, local fiscal autonomy, and regional inequalities.
The project is structured around five research sections:
- Fiscal landscape of local government units in Croatia
Analysis of the current state of fiscal decentralization, fiscal autonomy, fiscal capacities, and the fiscal equalization system, with the identification of key challenges and development opportunities. This component includes descriptive analyses and geospatial mapping of fiscal disparities among local government units.
- Fiscal autonomy and local economic development
Examination of the relationship between fiscal autonomy and local economic development, with a particular focus on local spatial association patterns and regional disparities, including the identification of development “hot spots” (Anselin, 1995) and lagging areas.
- Fiscal transfers and the efficiency of local public services
Analysis of the role of fiscal transfers in the efficiency of local public service provision, using efficiency measurement methods and regression models to assess the effects of transfers.
- Fiscal decentralization and income inequality
Investigation of the relationship between fiscal decentralization, fiscal autonomy, and income inequality across local government units and regions, with the aim of understanding the effects of fiscal policy on social equity.
- Fiscal decentralization and local government debt
Analysis of the impact of fiscal decentralization and fiscal transfers on the level and spatial dynamics of local government debt and on the long-term fiscal sustainability of local authorities, using spatial econometric methods.
Details of the project are available in the Croatian Research Information System – CroRIS.
Program: Croatian Science Foundation Installation Research Projects