Naslov
Fiscal position of counties as regional self- governmental units in Republic of Croatia

Autori
Marković, Branimir ; Stojanović, Slobodan

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u zbornicima skupova, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni

Izvornik
Interdisciplinary management research XII / Bacher, Urban ; Barković, Dražen ; Dernoscheg, Karl-Heinz ; Lamza-Maronić, Maja ; Matić, Branko ; Pap, Norbert ; Runzheimer, Bodo. - Osijek : Ekonomski fakultet Sveučilišta Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, 2016, 655-665

Skup
Interdisciplinary management research XII

Mjesto i datum
Opatija, Hrvatska, 20.05.2016. - 22.05.2016

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
local and regional self-government ; public revenues and expenditures of counties ; fiscal position of counties ; fiscal capacity

Sažetak
The system of local and regional self- government in Croatia consists of two levels. The level of local self-government is made of cities and municipalities, while the level of regional self-government is made of counties. There are 428 municipalities, 127 cities, and 20 counties, with the City of Zagreb, having special status of simultaneously being the city and the county. Therefore, the Croatian system of local and regional self-government comprises 576 self-governmental units in total. Since the inception of the system in 1990s, there are constant discussions in public between different interested parties about its functionality and appropriateness. A highly fragmented system of 576 self-governmental units in a country of 4, 2 mil citizens, by default, is characterized by mostly economically weak units that are dependent on the central government and often unable to fully deliver public services in their jurisdiction. Sixty cities have less than 10.000 inhabitants, what makes about 42% of all cities, while 220 municipalities have less than 2.500 inhabitants, what makes about 51% of all municipalities. Additionally, the counties are also very diverse in terms of population and area, as well as in terms of their economic strength. The City of Zagreb plays in its own league, making 19% of the total population and 33% of total GDP in 2012, and having a large share in the public finances of self- governmental units, thus influencing and distorting the results of every local and regional government analysis. The responsibilities and duties of the self- governmental units (which translate into public expenditures) are prescribed by the law, as well as their financing (the sources of local and regional public revenues). Although the process of fiscal decentralization started in 2001 with the transfer of certain so-called decentralized functions and corresponding financial funds from the central level to local and regional governments, it has not been continued as expected in following years. The fiscal decentralization should distribute financing sources between central, regional and local level differently, ensuring a larger share of public revenues for self-governmental units in order to deliver needed public services. The role of counties has been especially highly debated in ongoing discussions. Therefore, the paper discusses the position of counties in terms of their legal definition, financing sources, territorial and other characteristics, fiscal capacities, as well as it analyzes their public revenues and expenditures in past periods.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija

POVEZANOST RADA