Work

Crisis-driven reforms and local discretion: an assessment of Italy and Spain

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: The recent and still enduring global economic and financial crisis deeply impacted the institutional framework in Italy and Spain by prompting a series of reforms, which ultimately re-shaped the local government features. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of recent reforms, the author shows that (directly and indirectly) crisis-driven provisions have significantly impacted the local levels and changed the central/local relations in both countries. During the years of crisis, a decrease in local discretion in its three main facets (fiscal, administrative, and political/functional) has taken place. This outcome could both allow for a better understanding of how central and local governments have interacted during the crisis and to contribute to the formulation of more general considerations on local discretion and central/local relations in Italy and Spain.

Source: Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica

DOI: 10.1017/ipo.2015.23

Author: Silvia Bolgherini

Institution: University of Naples Federico II

Language: English

Topic: Local Government Finance and Decentralization

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: University of Cambridge