In recent years, decentralization and regional governance reforms have become a key priority for many countries to promote sustainable territorial development. In Morocco, the 2011 Constitution introduced advanced regionalization, granting regional governments greater autonomy and responsibilities in financing and managing local development. However, more than a decade later, questions remain about the financial performance of these regions and their capacity to mobilize and manage resources effectively. This paper aims to assess the financial performance of Moroccan regions through a case study approach. It examines regional revenue structures, expenditure patterns, fiscal autonomy, and investment capacity to evaluate the alignment between financial capabilities and the objectives of advanced regionalization. Relying on data from official sources, this study aims to provide an analytical overview of regional financial capabilities within the framework of advanced regionalization, contributes to the discussion on regional finance and governance in Morocco and formulates policy-oriented insights to support more effective and sustainable territorial development.
Essossinam Pali, Coffi Cyprien Aholou, François Paul Yatta
After several hesitant attempts, Togo has made renewed progress in implementing sustainable decentralization. Municipal and regional elections held in 2019 and 2024 marked a significant institutional step forward. However, this implementation phase remains marked by both achievements and structural challenges. This article explores how local elected officials perceive the decentralization policy and its financing in their municipalities. It formulates the general hypothesis that decentralization fosters the implementation of local public policies when supported by appropriate institutional mechanisms. Based on a quantitative survey conducted in early 2024 among 487 local actors including 477 municipal councilors and 10 prefects the results highlight a range of perceptions. While some elected officials acknowledge improvements in service delivery and institutional support (through tools such as FACT and ANFCT), others stress the persistence of constraints related to financial autonomy, administrative capacities, and citizen participation. The findings suggest that decentralization in Togo is progressing, albeit unevenly, and requires further efforts to consolidate its institutional and operational foundations.
In Qing Dynasty China, the inter-government fiscal arrangement was characterized by a “dual-track fiscal system” in which a formal system with a central budget of revenues and spending coexisted with a decentralized and fragmented informal local fiscal system financed by miscellaneous extra-legal taxes. Why did the dual-track fiscal system endure despite its obvious flaws? Why was the Qing state unable to establish a stable and rationalized fiscal federalism? This chapter investigates the causes and consequences of the dual-track fiscal system. Through historical institutional analysis and several empirical studies, we propose a novel explanation based on the opportunistic behavior and credible commitment by the central government. Due to the central government’s inability to credibly commit to not encroaching on the formal fiscal powers of lower-level governments, the decentralized, off-budget, and informal local finances represent an “institutional equilibrium”.
This study analyzes the two-tier local government models in France, Japan, Germany, and the United States to draw lessons for reforming the organization of state apparatus in Vietnam. Based on the theoretical foundations of local government organization, it clarifies the principles of decentralization, autonomy, accountability, and effective public governance. International experience highlights the importance oftransparent institutions, financial autonomy, competent personnel, and the application of technology in governance. In Vietnam, the two-tier model has been implemented since July 1, 2025, under Law No.72/2025/QH15, replacing the traditional three-tier structure. The article examines the challenges during the transition and proposes solutions to improve the legal framework, ensure substantive decentralization, enhance implementation capacity, reform public finance, strengthen oversight, and promote accountability - thereby contributing to building an effective, modern, and democratic local government.
Whether fiscal transfers can simultaneously achieve the dual goals of equity and growth has been a key topic of public finance research. This paper examines China's fiscal decentralization system and its intergovernmental transfer practices, proposing two conditions under which equity-oriented transfer systems may promote economic growth: The effectively motivate local officials' enthusiasm for economic development and the receiving regions' high marginal capital returns. We employ unique fiscal data from China's county-level economies for the period 2016–2021 to conduct regression analyses. The results show that provinces with more equitable distribution of transfer payments exhibit better economic growth at the county level. However, at the provincial level, there is a non-significant but noteworthy economic loss. This is attributed to the reverse incentives created by the equalization of fiscal transfers, which encourage growth in smaller counties but hinder growth in larger ones. The main mechanisms driving these reverse incentives include insufficient growth potential, distorted fiscal spending preferences, and an over-reliance on transfer payments. Our study demonstrates that, even within China's unique fiscal system and local development incentives, the allocation of fiscal transfer funds still faces a trade-off between equity and growth. This deepens our understanding of the effectiveness of fiscal transfer systems and the logic of local fiscal operations under a multi-level fiscal governance framework.
Samuel Wesonga Usolo, Annette Okoth, David Angwenyi
Youth unemployment remains a major concern, particularly in African countries with the youngest population globally. In Kenya, youth unemployment rate has shown fluctuations despite several government efforts such as the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (KYEP) and the Youth Employment Scheme Abroad (YESA). The impact of devolution on youth unemployment in Kenya has had little investigation on, which is the reason for this study. The study aims to assess the effect of devolution on youth unemployment rates in Kenya, utilizing Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average-Intervention model. This research was informed by the Keynesian and Decentralization theories of employment, which collectively illustrate how government efforts, like introduction of devolution, are anticipated to influence labor market results. This study used the yearly secondary data on youth unemployment rates from the World Bank covering the period from 1991 to 2022. Computational analysis was done using Python programming. An ARIMA (0, 0, 0)(0,0,1)[4] was selected as the most suitable model for the youth unemployment rates prior to devolution (noise model) due to its lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) value of 234.746 in comparison to other identified candidate models. By including devolution as an intervention in the selected noise model, its statistical significance was established at the 0.05 level of significance. Comparative analysis findings revealed that the average youth unemployment rate increased from 6.67% prior to devolution to 10.19% during the devolution period. The projected counterfactual rate during devolution was approximated to be 8.583%, which confirmed the observed increase as statistically significant. In conclusion, the effect of devolution was found to be statistically significant, implying that youth unemployment rates increased during devolution, as confirmed by the fitted ARIMA - Intervention model. Based on the upward trend in youth unemployment rates, the study recommended that policymakers prioritize other context specific and targeted interventions to address structural barriers in the youth labour markets. These should include expanding access to skills training and vocational education, fostering youth entrepreneurship through financing and mentorship programs, and aligning education curriculum with labour market needs.
Adolf Z. D. Siahay, Entis Sutisna, Jana Siti Nor Khasanah, Agus Dwianto
This research focuses on the influence of legal, managerial, political, and social variables (in this case, legal clarity, management accounting practices, elite capture, and community involvement) on governance performance in the context of special fiscal autonomy in Papua. We also investigate how Digital Fiscal Monitoring Systems (DFMS) attenuate these relationships. Quantitative survey; SPSS for regression and moderation analysis. Legal clarity and accounting transparency, and popular planning, positively affect governance, whereas elite capture has a negative influence on them. DFMS strengthens the positive impact of good governance and reduces the adverse effects of elite control. The interaction model of both shows that governance performance maximally increases if all institutional elements are synergized under digital monitoring. This paper offers an integrated governance framework of asymmetrical decentralization and positions DFMS as a moderator and an underdeveloped point of view in Indonesia’s subnational governance context. For Papua, the lessons are that the political process of passing laws must be accompanied by participatory planning and digital monitoring to ensure that autonomy meets its promise. This study has global implications for other poor or post-conflict areas that are contemplating such differentiated patterns of decentralization supported by digital public finance instruments.
Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractThis paper investigates the determinants of local public investment in Morocco, a country undergoing decentralization and facing persistent regional disparities. The study aims to identify the key factors driving capital expenditure across Morocco’s 12 regions and their local governments, including regional, provincial, and municipal councils, from 2017 to 2024. A dynamic panel of 96 observations is constructed, and a generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator is applied to address endogeneity, control for regional fixed effects, and account for the temporal persistence of investment. The choice of GMM is supported by prior descriptive analysis and the absence of spatial autocorrelation, confirmed by Moran’s I test. The results show that financial resources play a central role in shaping regional investment levels. Specifically, both own-source revenues and central government transfers have a positive and statistically significant effect on investment, with elasticities of 0.43 and 1.35, respectively. Public debt also contributes positively (0.21%), suggesting its potential as a complementary financing tool. In contrast, personnel expenditure exerts a crowding-out effect (−0.48%), reducing the fiscal space available for investment. Other operating expenditures and regional population show no significant impact. The model is robust (R² = 0.757) and satisfies the Hansen test (p = 0.095). Overall, the findings highlight the decisive role of financial autonomy and the effectiveness of intergovernmental transfers in enhancing the investment capacity of local governments. The results also call for better management of operating expenses to avoid limiting capital investment potential.
This study explores the financing of local governance in Nepal, focusing on Neelakantha Municipality to evaluate fiscal federalism under the country’s three-tier governance system. Analyzing revenue and expenditure data from FY 2077/78 to 2079/80, the research reveals a significant dependence on intergovernmental transfers, which comprised over 55% of total revenue, while internal revenue generation declined to as low as 2.8%. Despite consistent budget surpluses, the municipality struggled with capital expenditure execution, achieving as little as 61% in some years. Using indicators such as the Fiscal Autonomy Ratio (FAR), Local Fiscal Dependency Ratio (LFDR), and Financial Autonomy Index (FAI), the study identifies weak fiscal autonomy and increasing external dependence, with FAR values ranging from 4.0% to 38.5%, FAI declining to 18.0% by FY 2079/80, and LFDR trending upward. These trends reflect administrative inefficiencies in revenue collection and budget implementation. Although Nepal’s legal provisions for fiscal federalism are robust, the study concludes that implementation gaps—such as vertical and horizontal fiscal imbalances, overlapping tax structures, and limited local capacity—continue to undermine effectiveness. It recommends enhancing local revenue administration, improving expenditure management, and strengthening performance monitoring. The case of Neelakantha Municipality underscores the need for governance reforms to support institutional design and realize the goals of meaningful fiscal decentralization.
The article examines the historical stages of the formation and development of financial control over local finances in Ukraine. The origins of financial control since the times of Kyivan Rus are investigated, the role of “Ruska Pravda” in the formation of the first legal principles of financial control is characterized. Particular attention is paid to the functioning of treasury chambers, control departments and state control bodies during the period of the Russian Empire, starting from the 18th century. The transformations of the financial control system in the conditions of imperial, Soviet and independent Ukrainian statehood are analyzed. The key regulatory legal acts that regulated financial control at different stages of history are identified – from the “Temporary Regulation on Control Institutions” (1866) to the Budget Code of Ukraine. It is proposed to define the following historical stages of the formation of financial control over local finances in Ukraine: 1) the Old Russian stage (X–XIII centuries) – primary forms of financial control, when the financial system was based on in-kind taxes and fees, and financial control was carried out through the princely administration, in particular through the “princely treasury”; 2) the pre-reform period (XIII century – until 1864) – financial control at the local level was weak, carried out through the governor’s office, the main attention was focused on collecting taxes and ensuring revenues to the empire’s budget; 3) the period of the zemstvo reform (1864–1917) – the creation of zemstvos – local self-government bodies with the right to draw up local budgets, the emergence of the first institutions of financial control at the local level; 4) the Soviet centralized stage (1918–1990) – complete centralization of finances, local budgets were integrated into the national budgets; 5) the beginning of independent financial control (1991–2000) – the formation of the legal foundations of local self-government, the emergence of a regulatory framework for local financial control, the formation of financial powers of local authorities; 6) codification and systematization of regulatory and legal acts regulating financial control (2001–2010); 7) the stage of decentralization and digital transformation (2010 – to date) – the activation of local self-government, digitalization of budget processes, the introduction of public control tools.
Alma Idah, R. Biroum Bernardianto, Suffianor Suffianor
This study offers a thorough summary of the state of research in the area of local government finance by conducting a systematic literature review. Drawing on 25 years of pertinent publications in the subject of public budgeting and finance, the study addresses a variety of topics, such as capital budgeting, budgeting and budget reform, intergovernmental finance, financial management, and alternative service delivery. Scopus was used to gather the data, and 580 articles were deemed suitable for additional examination. The data were analyzed using Bibliometric approach. The analysis highlights China, the United States, and the United Kingdom as dominant contributors, with a strong focus on topics such as fiscal decentralization, local government finance, and governance efficiency. The author collaboration network reveals fragmented clusters, with limited interconnections among researchers, emphasizing the need for broader global and interdisciplinary collaborations. Additionally, the findings underscore the growing importance of emerging themes such as sustainability, digital governance, and AI-driven fiscal management, which remain underexplored. Geographical imbalances in research output further highlight the need for greater representation from underrepresented regions, including Africa, South America, and parts of Asia. Policymakers and practitioners who want to keep up with the most recent advancements and industry best practices in local government finance will also benefit from it.
Equitable education systems contribute to fostering thriving societies. However, decentralization reforms in school finance pose challenges to equity and social justice. Using longitudinal multilevel models, we examined the trends in equity of local education funding distribution in 250 Israeli local authorities from 2014 to 2020. Our findings revealed a consistently inequitable allocation: high-SES and majority-populated areas allocated double the resources compared with low-SES and minority-populated areas, with funding disparities increasing over time. These findings suggest the need for regulations governing local funding, particularly in diverse societies, to promote equity in education finance.
The relevance of the article is due to the fact that there is currently an increasing need for an independent financial ecosystem that provides capital owners with full control over their money due to the fact that it is the development of a financial system based on modern technologies in power and financial relations. The subject of the research is the use of financial services based on the use of blockchain and a platform approach. The purpose of the work is to identify the problems, risks, advantages and disadvantages of decentralized finance (DeFi). The analysis of the current state of decentralized finance is carried out and the mechanisms of their functioning are investigated. It has been established that the DeFi ecosystem, which uses a multi-level structure and freely combines blocks and protocols, is implemented by decentralized autonomous organizations that ensure the interaction of participants and decision-making mechanisms. Potential applications of the DeFi ecosystem have been identified, covering the provision and receipt of loans, banking services, and profit optimization. The key problems of decentralized financing have been identified, including a high risk of user error; low productivity; the possibility of third-party interference; difficulties in using tokens with different capitalization levels; imperfect functioning of programs; insufficient cybersecurity; significant volatility. The advantages and development trends of centralized financing are highlighted: fast access and openness; autonomy; relatively high profitability; savings on resources and time. It is concluded that decentralized financing has both advantages and disadvantages.
Charles Nicholas, Charles Dwumfour Osei, David Kwao-Sarbah
The success of decentralization efforts in developing countries, such as Ghana, is closely tied to the capacity for robust infrastructure delivery at the local level, where local governments are mandated to drive development but often operate on shoestring budgets. This study critically examines the performance of Internally Generated Funds (IGF) collection in the Ahafo Ano-South West District in Ghana, with a specific focus on revenue trends from 2016 to 2022. Using time series data, the study applies the Corrected Revenue Collection Index (CRCI) to assess how well various revenue streams performed. The findings reveal a striking pattern where property rates emerged as the most consistent and high-performing source of IGF, while revenues from land royalties and administrative fees lagged significantly. Rental income from lands and buildings, and licenses, showed moderate but promising results. These disparities highlight the untapped potential within local revenue systems and point to key areas for reform and strategic investment. By offering new empirical insights, this study contributes meaningfully to the broader discourse on local government financing and sustainable development. It underscores the urgent need for improved revenue mobilization strategies and greater fiscal accountability to empower district assemblies in Ghana and similar contexts to deliver on their developmental mandates. Strengthening IGF collection is not just a financial necessity but a pathway to stronger and more self-reliant local governance. Keywords: Revenue mobilization, Internally generated fund, District Assembly, Local Government, Decentralization, Ghana.
The constitutionalising of local self-government through the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments marked a significant moment in India’s democratic and federal evolution. These reforms sought to deepen democracy by devolving powers, responsibilities and resources to local governments. More than three decades later, decentralization in India has produced institutions that are electorally vibrant but administratively constrained. This paper examines the paradox of extensive formal devolution coexisting with persistent state control. Using the analytical framework of finance, functions, and functionaries (the “3Fs”), it argues that decentralization in India has unfolded as a managed and politically conditioned process rather than a comprehensive transfer of authority. While fiscal transfers and functional assignments have expanded unevenly, control over administrative personnel has remained firmly centralized. The retention of authority over functionaries emerges as the central mechanism through which state governments preserve power over local governance. The paper contributes to decentralization scholarship by shifting attention from constitutional design to political economy, highlighting personnel control as the key constraint on substantive local self-government in India.
Somalia's urban growth, particularly in the Benadir region, has intensified over the past decades with driving forces such as population inflow, economic opportunities, and post-conflict rehabilitation.This study analyzes challenges encountered by Somalia's Benadir local government administration, such as urban growth and challenges they experience owing to reasons such as weak infrastructure, lack of finance, and inefficient systems of governance.This rapid urbanisation, however, presents significant challenges to local government management, such as inadequate infrastructure, poor urban planning, limitations on resources, and governance challenges.This study investigates the impact of urban development on local government functioning in the Benadir region, with an emphasis on how municipal governments manage urban services such as housing, waste management, public health, and security under the conditions of limited financial and human resources.The research also emphasizes the demand for better infrastructure, more effective institutional frameworks, and better policies of local governance to manage urban growth effectively.By facilitating sustainable urban development, policy concepts consist of decentralizing resources, developing capability, and establishing strategic partnerships with foreign entities.The research applied qualitative methods to approach, analysing secondary data acquired from kinds of literature of local government officials and leaders and data collected from policy documents and urban development reports.The findings show a gap between rates of urban growth and administrative capacity, leading to such governance challenges as informal settlements, poor public services, and undermined institutional arrangements.Strategic urban planning, enhanced mobilisation of resources, and building capacity are recommended by the report to strengthen local government administration and promote sustainable urban development in the Benadir region.These results contribute to the broader debate on urban governance in post-conflict environments, offering policy implications for Somalia and other developing nations experiencing rapid urbanisation.
Since the fiscal decentralization process began in 1980, territorial inequality among the poorest and richest regions of the Mexican Republic has grown. In this work, states are divided into two groups: Those that contribute more to the federal budget than they receive and are considered fiscally surplus, and those that contribute less and are in deficit. It is shown that the fiscal deficit of the poorest states has been able to be financed through oil revenues. However, this situation is not sustainable and to maintain the current levels of transfers to the most deficient regions, it will be necessary to squeeze more from the taxpayers of the richest states. Without a new fiscal pact between the states, demands for greater autonomy in the richest regions will increase, as has recently happened in other countries.
Essossinam Pali, Coffi Cyprien Aholou, François Paul Yatta
Since 2019, Togo has been strengthening financial decentralization through municipalization and the election of municipal councilors. Municipal financial autonomy is a key driver of local governance, allowing municipalities to mobilize their own resources, manage tax and non-tax revenues, and implement development projects. However, despite a legal framework governing local taxation, Togolese municipalities continue to face chronic financial constraints that limit their ability to finance public services and infrastructure. This study examines the mechanisms of financial decentralization in Togo and their contribution to municipal budgets. Using a quantitative approach that combines documentary analysis and interviews with 188 experts and practitioners in local finance, the study identifies the following four primary financing mechanisms: local, national, community-based and international. Among these, own revenues, including tax revenues, non-tax revenues, and revenues from the provision of services, together with government transfers through the Local Authorities Support Fund (FACT) are the main sources of local government finance. However, the results show that several legally defined fiscal instruments remain underutilized or outdated in many municipalities, significantly limiting their effectiveness in mobilizing resources. These results highlight the need to optimize fiscal decentralization strategies in order to strengthen the financial autonomy of municipalities and support sustainable territorial development.
Fran Brahimi, Mariel Frroku, Skënder Uku, Emiljan Mustaqe
A significant part of the literature on fiscal decentralization confirms that the greater the ability of decentralized governments to adapt policies to local preferences and to be innovative in providing public services, the greater the potential for investments and economic growth. This paper examines the dynamic effects and relationship between own source revenues, unconditional transfers, and local public investments. Over the past decades, fiscal and financial decentralization in Albania has made steady progress. However, the increasing responsibilities of local governments have intensified the need to raise the share of local revenues and expenditures relative to GDP and increase revenue from unconditional transfers. Following the administrative-territorial reform, fiscal decentralization has dynamically evolved, boosting local public revenues and granting greater discretion in their use to meet community needs. The specific law on local self-government finances led to increases in both own revenue and revenue from unconditional transfers. Further reforms have improved local public finance management, including local budgeting reforms, enhanced transparency of tax collection and expenditure, and self-assessment and monitoring of local government's financial status. These modernization efforts related to local finances have yielded positive results regarding macroeconomic stability, fund predictability, and transparent use of public funds. Consequently, central and local governments prioritize public investments in infrastructure and sector revitalization in their budgets. Local public investments have risen annually, driven by increased local income from taxes and government transfers. This growth reflects the focus of local and central development policies on addressing infrastructure and logistical challenges. The consolidation of decentralization and stable central budget transfers have created favorable conditions for local governments to implement new policies enhancing service quality and public investment performance.
In accordance with the Imperial Constitution of 1871, the German Empire of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a federal state. The governments of the center (the Reich) and the federal states pursued a fiscal policy that had some features of “proto-competitive” federalism. Over the subsequent fifty years, however, German federalism evolved toward fiscal federalism. This transition was finally consolidated during 1919 and 1920 due to some endogenous factors and even more to exogenous ones. The article is based on statistical material as well as research from various studies, including those available from the library of the Goethe-Institut. The article compares the extent to which there were indications of proto-competitive federalism in the German budgetary system prior to Matthias Erzberger’s (finance minister of the German Empire) financial reforms (1919–1920) and indications of fiscal federalism after them. The transformation in both the distribution of power and responsibility as well as in provision of resources by various levels of the budgetary system to support those changes during the transition from proto-competitive to fiscal federalism is analyzed. The attempt to strike a balance between the fiscal interests of the center, federal states, and municipalities is explored; and equalization is singled out as a new function of the empire’s budget process. The creation of a so-called self-sufficient economy in the empire just before the First World War and its subsequent survival under pressure from sanctions and international isolation demanded a flexible balance between centralization and decentralization of spending powers along with an appropriate allocation of resources. Fiscal federalism through centralization of funds allowed Germany to begin recovery from geopolitical and socio-economic challenges, while maintaining decentralization primarily in non-tax revenues encouraged local governments to continue developing their economies. The logic derived from this historical study of the changing models of German fiscal federalism is also applicable to Russia: the reduction of revenues and growth of expenditures in the Russian Federation’s federal budget in recent years makes centralization of fiscal resources at the federal level more important, and the growth of expenditures in the regions and municipalities necessitates transfers and equalization measures.
Understanding how central and local governments share resources and responsibilities is crucial for analyzing political and economic systems.Decentralization is not a one-size-fits-all solution for enhancing local government efficiency and responsiveness.While it was once believed to lead to better governance and civic engagement, fiscal challenges (such as vertical fiscal imbalances, soft budget constraints, and the flypaper effect) can undermine fiscal discipline and efficiency, potentially causing fiscal crises at the subnational level.This thesis examines fiscal decentralization and public finance in Brazil through three empirical essays.First, I explore the financial impacts of extreme weather events on local public finances in Brazil.The findings show that droughts do not significantly influence intergovernmental transfers, causing financial strain, while floods result in increased government grants.However, this financial boost does not lead to better spending on flood mitigation, indicating a moral hazard associated with reliance on higher-level government resources.Second, I investigate the impact of territorial divisions on local governments.The analysis, using voter turnout and financial data, shows that administrative divisions initially boost electoral engagement, though this effect fades over time.Territorial fragmentation also increases reliance on vertical transfers while raising expenditures without significantly affecting fiscal balance.Third, I evaluate the Program for the Modernization of Tax Administration (PMAT), which was designed to enhance local tax collection.This analysis shows that the program had no significant impact on tax collection, highlighting the ineffectiveness of modernization efforts aimed at reducing municipal reliance on intergovernmental transfers.
Lukas Weidener, Fabio Laredo, K. I. Pavan Kumar, Karlin Compton
This study presents a systematic scoping review of delegated voting (DV) in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), focusing on its governance implications, implementation forms, and challenges. DV refers to a mechanism through which token holders transfer their voting rights to other participants, often called delegates, who vote on their behalf. While DV is often adopted to address low participation and mitigate the cognitive burden of direct involvement, the existing literature highlights its potential to exacerbate centralization, particularly when whales or influential networks are disproportionate. This creates tension between the intended efficiency gains of the delegation and the unintended concentration of power. Various implementation models, including off-chain platforms (e.g., Snapshot), hybrid governance architectures, and token-based delegation systems, exhibit distinct trade-offs in transparency, cost, and adaptability. Although innovations such as quadratic voting, weighted delegation constraints, and reputation-based governance show promise for improving fairness and accountability, they also face vulnerabilities, such as gaming, collusion, and high implementation complexity. To explore the diverse approaches to DV, this review organizes and synthesizes key findings from recent scholarly publications examining its implementation, risks, and governance outcomes. Synthesizing insights from 13 publications, this review identifies key governance trade-offs, implementation patterns, and risks associated with DV. It also outlines future research directions, including multi-tiered governance structures and decision-support mechanisms, to guide more inclusive and context-aware DAO governance.
This study investigates redistributive spending in China’s governance system, focusing on fiscal decentralization, interjurisdictional competition, and land finance revenue. Using multilevel modeling of data from 283 prefectural cities and 2,862 county-level jurisdictions, it finds that interjurisdictional competition prioritizes developmental spending over redistributive services. No significant relationship is observed between fiscal capacity—measured by tax revenues or intergovernmental transfers—and redistributive expenditures. However, higher land finance revenues are positively linked to increased redistributive spending. The study attributes this development-oriented strategy to the cadre promotion system, where local officials advance their careers by achieving policy goals through competition for economic investments. By integrating land finance into the analysis of redistributive spending, this research highlights its implications for equity and sustainability. It underscores the urgent need for fiscal and social policy reforms to balance developmental priorities with equitable social welfare provision.
В. В. Мартиненко, Тетяна Коляда, Maryna Skoryk, Olga Sokolova · 6 authors
The article examines the impact of the financial autonomy of local governments on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Ukraine. The main objective of the study is to analyze the financial support of local budgets and their role in achieving key national and global development goals, such as poverty reduction, quality education, healthcare, reduction of inequality, etc. The paper also assesses how effectively decentralization contributes to increasing the financial autonomy of communities and how this affects their ability to independently allocate resources to address pressing socio-economic issues.The main results show that in the period 2015–2023, local budgets of Ukraine demonstrated a steady trend towards the growth of their own revenues, which had a positive impact on the financial autonomy of communities. The share of own revenues in total local budget revenues increased from 41% in 2015 to 68% in 2023. In addition, the expenditure coverage ratio of own revenues has also increased to over 68%, indicating that communities are increasingly able to finance their own needs. However, several problems have been identified, including an imperfect legislative framework, low institutional capacity, and a lack of specialists in local financial management.The findings of the study emphasize the importance of financial decentralization for the sustainable development of communities, especially in the context of martial law. Increased financial autonomy allows communities to respond more effectively to the challenges of the modern world, in particular by investing in local infrastructure, education, healthcare and the environment. At the same time, the authors emphasize the need to improve governance mechanisms further at the local level, as well as the importance of ensuring transparency and accountability of local governments. These measures are key to achieving the SDGs and improving the quality of life of the population.