Fiscal decentralisation, local government and policy reversals in Southeastern Europe / [electronic resource] Edited by William Bartlett; Sanja Kmezić; Katarina Đulić.

Intro; Preface; Contents; Notes on Contributors; List of Figures; List of Tables; 1: The Political Economy of Decentralisation and Local Government Finance in the Western Balkans: An Overview; Introduction; Decentralisation in the Successor States of Former Yugoslavia and in Albania; The Political Economy of Decentralisation in Transition Countries; Europeanisation and the Political Economy of Decentralisation; Crisis, Policy Reversals, and Local Government Debt; Local Governments in Transition and the Political Economy of Ethnicity. Albania: Struggling with the Legacy of Extreme CentralisationConclusion; References; Part I: Europeanisation and the Political Economy of Decentralisation; 2: Slovenia: Vertical Imbalance in Local Government Financing; Introduction; Territorial Organisation; Organisational and Functional Aspects of Slovenian Municipalities; The Municipal Finance System; Financial Sources of Local Authorities; Tax Revenues; Transfer Revenues; Borrowing; Analysis of the Effects of the Municipal Finance System; Eligible Expenditure and Costs; EU Funds and Capital Investments; Conclusions; References. 3: Croatia: Instruments of Fiscal EqualisationIntroduction; Territorial Organisation; The Genesis of Fiscal Decentralisation; The First Phase: Administrative and Territorial Decentralisation (1994-2001); The Second Phase: Fiscal Decentralisation (2001-2009); The Third Phase: Recentralisation and the Post-crisis Period (since 2009); Decentralisation of Revenue; Assignment of Functions; Borrowing; EU Funds and Capital Investments; Fiscal Equalisation; Conclusion; References; Part II: Crisis, Policy Reversals, and Local Government Debt. 4: Serbia: Local Government Financing and Non-transparency of Fiscal DataIntroduction; Territorial-Administrative Organisation of the Country; Political Decentralisation; Intergovernmental Fiscal Relationships between 1990 and 2016; Phase 1: The First Wave of Fiscal Centralisation (1990-2000); Phase 2: The Wave of Fiscal Decentralisation (2000-2008); The Functions of Local Governments Between 2000 and 2008; Local Government Fiscal Revenues Between 2000 and 2008; Phase 3: Pseudo-Decentralisation and Renewal of Fiscal Centralisation (2009-2016); Delegation of Functions Between 2009 and 2016. Local Government Finance Between 2009 and 2016The Non-transparency of Fiscal Data and Its Implications; Conclusions; References; 5: Montenegro: Volatile Municipal Revenues; Introduction; Administrative and Territorial Organisation; Political Decentralisation; The Genesis of Fiscal Decentralisation; Decentralisation of Revenues; Assignment of Functions; Local Public Debt: Borrowing, Outstanding Bills, and Arrears; Conclusion; References; 6: Bosnia and Herzegovina: Local Government Debt; Introduction; Territorial and Administrative Organisation of BiH since 1995; Fiscal Decentralisation in BiH.

This edited collection provides a comprehensive geographic and chronological overview of the decentralisation processes in the successor states of former Yugoslavia and Albania during their transition and EU integration years, from 1990 until 2016. These countries present a unique laboratory for the analysis of economic, social and political change, having traversed armed conflicts, dramatic economic and political changes, and EU pre-accession processes involving deep institutional reform. They have also endured the Eurozone crisis, which has led to high levels of unemployment, wide fiscal gaps and dangerously high levels of indebtedness. Observing the quarter century-long transition from socialism to capitalism through the prism of decentralisation sheds new light on studying the political economy of the region and the current status of the individual countries in terms of economic development and their EU integration progress. The contributors enrich the wider literature on fiscal decentralisation in transition countries by exploring several broad questions on democratisation, the political economy of post-communist transition, the role of external actors in policy transfer and the issue of financial stability in the post-crisis period. William Bartlett is Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. He is coordinator of the LSEE Research Network on Social Cohesion in South East Europe and has carried out numerous research and consultancy projects, including those for the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the European Training Foundation, UNDP and UNICEF. Sanja Kmezić is Lecturer at the Karl Franzens University of Graz, Austria. Kmezić is a co-founder of the non-profit think tank European Research Academy Belgrade (EURAK), Serbia and has worked as an advisor on various international development programmes aimed at local government and public administration reform. Katarina Đulić is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Finance and Administration in Belgrade, Serbia. She is also a co-founder of EURAK and has carried out numerous consultancy projects for the International Finance Corporation, USAID and SECO aimed at governance and public financial management reform.