Recent crises and national consolidation packages affected sub-national finances. In many OECD countries, central governments introduced reductions in transfers to sub-national governments, and established expenditure and/or deficit objectives to be met by local or regional authorities. Such...

Sub-national governments (SNGs) are key players for public investment in OECD countries, responsible for nearly two-thirds of it. At the same time, both the well-being of the population and economic performance depend on an adequate provision of public services, which require public facilities...

Public investment is one of the fiscal tools with the strongest impacts on growth over the long term. However, public investment is in decline compared to the period prior to the 2008 global financial crisis in many OECD countries, and particularly in the EU. The main explanation for the...

The paper explores interrelations between the fiscal situation of sub-national and central governments, or – put differently – whether and how sub-national and central governments contribute to each other’s fiscal difficulties. The first part of the paper examines sub-national government...