Fiscal Federalism in Unitary States (ZEI Studies in European Economics and Law Book 6)

Decentralism of political power to regions and local government occurs worldwide in response to demands from the periphery. Such devolution of power raises a number of problems - political, financial, and legal. By gathering together important papers from a series of workshops sponsored by the SNS Constitutional Project and the Center for European Integration Studies, this volume presents a number of these problems from a truly interdisciplinary perspective. The authors believe that fiscal federalism, while originating in formally federal states, is relevant also to the analysis of state-local relationships in unitary states with some degree of regional or local authority. Among the topics they cover are the division of responsibilities and powers of taxation, bailouts, systems of equalization, and state grants, as well as problems related to democracy and citizens' rights. While the book's primary focus is Nordic, its international perspective is enhanced by contributions from Europe, Canada, and the U.S. This Book's Thirteen Contributions Bring Together The Results Of Recent Research On Determinants Of Regional Specialization, Growth, And Convergence In The Context Of European Integration. They Offer Fresh Theoretical And Empirical Evidence On Patterns Of Regional Production Structures, Specialization, Regional Disparities, Convergence And Divergence Processes, And Evaluation Of Cohesion Policies On Both Current And Future European Union (eu) Member States. These Subjects Are Addressed In Both Individual And Cross-country Analysis Using Innovative Methodologies. They Examine Structural Changes And Economic Performance Differentials Across Regions And Countries In An Enlarged Eu As Well As On Existing Policies Aimed At Reducing Economic Imbalances. Integration, Growth And Cohesion In An Enlarged European Union Will Be Of Particular Interest To Researchers And Policy Makers Working In The Fields Of Economic Integration, Transition Economies, And Regional Development.--jacket. 1. Integration, Growth And Cohesion In An Enlarged European Union : An Overview / John Bradley, George Petrakos And Iulia Traistaru -- 2. Regional Inequalities In The European Union / George Petrakos, Andres Rodriguez-pose And Ageliki Anagnostou -- 3. Regional Inequalities In The Eu Accession Countries : Evolution And Challenges / George Petrakos, Yannis Psycharis And Dimitris Kallioras -- 4. Total Factor Productivity And Economic Freedom -- Implications For Eu Enlargement / Ronald Moomaw And Euy-seok Yang -- 5. What Determines Relative Sectoral Investment Patterns In Eu Regions? / Claudia Stirbock -- 6. Catching-up Process, South-south Integration And Location Of Industrial Activity / Arsene Rieber And Thi Anh-dao Tran. Edited By John Bradley, George Petrakos And Iulia Traistaru. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Integration, Growth and Cohesion in an Enlarged European Union Edited by: Bradley, Petrakos, and Traistaru This book's thirteen contributions bring together the results of recent research on determinants of regional specialization, growth, and convergence in the context of European integration. They offer fresh theoretical and empirical evidence on patterns of regional production structures, specialization, regional disparities, convergence and divergence processes, and evaluation of cohesion policies on both current and future European Union (EU) member states in the context of increased integration. These subjects are addressed in both individual and cross-country analysis using innovative methodologies. They examine structural changes and economic performance differentials across regions and countries in an enlarged EU as well as on evaluating existing policies aimed at reducing economic imbalances. This unique empirical analysis uses data sets in particular from the EU accession countries, and it presents for the first time in a unified framework theoretical foundations and empirical results of models used in the evaluation of cohesion politics. The evaluation of cohesion policies in Ireland is used as a benchmark to compare recent evaluation experiences with models in Estonia, Hungary, and Poland. Integration, Growth and Cohesion in an Enlarged European Union will be of particular interest to researchers and policy makers working in the fields of economic integration, transition economies, and regional development This book contributes fresh theoretical and empirical evidence on patterns of regional production structures, specialization, regional disparities, convergence and divergence processes and evaluation of cohesion policies in both current and future European Union (EU) member states in the context of increased integration. These subjects are addressed in both individual and cross-country analyses using innovative methodologies. The book is an essential reading for a large audience including researchers and policy makers working in the fields of economic integration, transition economics and regional development. The thirteen contributions brought together in this book are the result of recent research undertaken in the framework of a larger project initiated and coordinated by the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) of the University of Bonn on determinants of regional specialization, growth and convergence in the context of European integration. A number of these papers were presented to a conference on “European integration, regional convergence, location of industrial activity and labour market adjustment” initiated by the Center for European Integration Studies of the University of Bonn and organized jointly with the Center for European Studies of the University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” of Iasi, Romania. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the European Commission Framework Programme and the Center for European Integration Studies of the University of Bonn. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction — Problems of Multi-Level Democracies....Pages 1-8 Division of Powers....Pages 9-45 Swedish Local Government: Is There a Bailout Problem?....Pages 47-76 Fiscal Equalisation Between Swedish Municipalities....Pages 77-100 Constraining Misuse of Funds From Intergovernmental Grants: A Legal Analysis....Pages 101-121 Democratic Governance and Local Autonomy....Pages 123-130 Why Federalism?....Pages 131-144 Strengthening Federalism in Sweden....Pages 145-167 A Summary, and Four Theses on State-Local Relationships....Pages 169-182 Back Matter....Pages 183-185