22/05/2024 The ninth edition of the NALAS fiscal decentralization report captures the development of local finance in South-East Europe (SEE) for the period 2006 – 2021, explores recent regulatory changes and compares the different economies’ performance related to (fiscal) decentralization indicators. The report provides an analysis of the intergovernmental fiscal relations in each of the SEE economies, as well as on local government own revenue raising capacities – identifying the major developments and challenges faced by local governments as regards the collection of local taxes, fees and charges. In addition, this current edition of report puts more emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic implications on municipal finances, both from a legislation and volume perspective as well as on the rules and magnitude of municipal borrowing and local government debt in South-East Europe.
The report is a result of the longstanding collaborative effort of the NALAS Fiscal Decentralization Task Force to provide Local Government Associations, policymakers and practitioners with reliable comparative data and information on municipal finances and intergovernmental fiscal relations in South-East Europe (SEE). We are very thankful to the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the BACID III program (https://www.bacid.eu/Fiscal_Decentralization_Indicators_for_South-East_Europe) – Building Administrative Capacities in the Danube Region and to the KDZ – Centre for Public Administration Research (https://www.kdz.eu/en), for their continued support in the area of fiscal decentralisation and the development of the NALAS Decentralisation Observatory (https://nalas-observatory.eu/): the data and knowledge hub on local governance in South-East Europe.
