Naslov
Economic and Financial Crisis and Local Government Units' Budgets in Croatia

Autori
Bronić, Mihaela

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

Izvornik
9th International Scientific Symposium Region, Entrepreneurship, Development / Leko Šimić, Mirna ; Crnković, Boris - Osijek : Ekonomski fakultet Sveučilišta Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, 2020, 116-130

Skup
9th International Scientific Symposium Region, Entrepreneurship, Development 2020 (RED 2020)

Mjesto i datum
Osijek, Hrvatska, 04.06.2020. - 05.06.2020

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
local government units’ budgets ; economic and financial crisis ; budget transparency ; Croatia

Sažetak
The European Commission (2020) has stated that there is a challenging road ahead, arguing that a new economic crisis might be coming. This article, then, analyses what happened during the 2008-2009 economic and financial crisis with aggregate local government units’ (LGUs) budgets in Croatia so that lessons for eventual possible future crisis might be drawn. The goal is to analyse officially available Ministry of Finance data for all 576 LGUs (20 counites, 428 municipalities and 128 cities) in order to assess the impact of the 2008- 2009 crisis on the level and composition of aggregate LGUs' revenues, expenditures, deficit/surplus and debt. The analysis of the 2002-2018 period shows that the crisis had most visible impact in the period 2009-2012 and that as a consequence of the crisis LGUs typically reacted procyclically to their reduced revenues (by cutting expenditures, especially capital expenditures, and controlling deficits and debts). In the event of any future crisis, national government could decide to help LGUs by underpinning economic growth and employment or to control the size of the local government sector. However, Ministry of Finance should first improve local budget transparency by publishing the appropriate data relating to LGUs' finances (their budgets and balances sheets). This article proves that local budget transparency is crucial, as only transparent budgets can be properly analysed and easily monitored, enabling government and citizens to meaningfully participate in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public policies.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija

POVEZANOST RADA