European Social Fund has to be accurately implemented by Members’ States authorities through projects developed by public and private national entities, according also to the principle of “sound financial management”, described as the expression of the appropriate mix of economy of assigned resources, efficient allocation of resources toward indicators and effectiveness of financed operations. As long as ESF funding is trusted for implementation through a decentralized management mechanism to the Members’ State Authorities, those have to comply with reporting objectives to the EC, as set into the European Regulations, including compliance to the “sound financial management” principle whose three components are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely (SMART). Identifying the most appropriate quantitative methods that could be applied to the measurable elements may be seen as a first step in assisting both: management's decision towards implementation and reporting over the EC objectives. Our study tends to appropriate some quantitative models to the ESF implementation mechanisms, enhancing connections among ESF specific variables: project's budgets and number of individuals receiving labor market related services (also called project's indicators). Conclusions lead us to a series of quantitative models that may be practically used for assisting management's decision and reporting towards a sound ESF implementation in Romania.
Open access
Regional Development and Policy
Education, Management, Technology, Human Resources
Abstract The process of decentralisation of public administration was based on the transfer of competences from state administration to municipalities and on the setting of new conditions for financing of municipalities. In the process of decentralization of public administration and fiscal decentralization, the range of original and transferred competences, as well as the tasks of municipalities and the corresponding instruments of financing, were set there by mutual agreement between the state bodies and the local self-government. The transfer of competences on municipalities in the field of education was not a simple process. The first steps in the management of schools and educational facilities did not entail without problems. Many of the misunderstandings grew up mainly from a lack of knowledge of the relevant laws governing the specific educational and training activities, operation, financing, personnel and material-technical provision of schools and educational facilities. The aim of the contribution is legislative and financial definition of current system of provision of services by municipalities in the Slovak Republic in the field of regional education, because this area is complicated and disorganized the laws dealing with education and its financing have undergone many amendments. The following compact and comprehensive issues can serve as a framework for further research.
Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, Sunčana Slijepčević, Željka Kordej-De Villa
Decentralization can be generally described as a process in which selected functions are assigned to sub-national units. The literature identifies number of positive consequences of decentralization which all lead to better satisfaction of citizens? needs for public services. Although decentralization process in Croatia started more than 10 years ago, it still has not been finished. It led to new division of authorities and responsibilities to the local government units, but the level of fiscal decentralization remained lower than in the EU countries. The efficient decentralization should incorporate delegation of authorities, responsibilities and resources to local government units based on the clear criteria, but also should ensure better coordination and cooperation of all entities in providing public functions. In the paper we analyze fiscal capacity of local government units to provide an insight into the main problems of decentralization in Croatia. We show that the most of local government units have very low fiscal capacity and cannot finance basic public functions from their own resources. The paper also presents result of the performed survey about decentralization process among local councilors at the regional level in Croatia. We explore how local councilors at regional level in Croatia evaluate different goals of decentralization. Having in mind the lack of fiscal capacity, we identify two possible solutions for an optimal provision of public functions. The first one is level of political will for the joint provision of public functions between different local units, and the second one is change in territorial division of the country. We measure the difference in the attitudes toward these questions across counties.
Hava Mucolları, Alba Dumi, Zaim Korsı, Elisabeta Duçellari
This paper includes partnerships with community-based organizations, public and private colleges, universities, public school teachers, public health departments. Additionally, more number of community leaders have been trained to deliver educational workshops; PSI has developed a robust workshop leader database, which permits remote access to (and entry of) service delivery information. This will be an important point of administrative changes in Albanian public policies as an obstacle to the operating foreign investments, comparison of EU. Entrepreneurship ambition has worked to support changes in Albanian law that would offer anti-discrimination protections in keeping with international standards. Another point of administrative changes in Albanian public policies as an obstacle to the operating foreign investments, comparison of EU is: (1) International investments contributed to the improvement of Albania’s financial regulatory environment which has strengthened public confidence in the banking system and has provided a more secure, efficient and transparent financial system to meet the credit, savings and insurance needs of businesses and individuals. The paper provides support for legislative initiatives and local government activities that advance the decentralization process and increase the control of local government by local constituents, thus decreasing the control of central authorities. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n10p34
Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, Sunčana Slijepčević, Željka Kordej-De Villa
The decentralization process started in 2001 by broadening the responsibilities of local self-government units and changing the sources of financing public functions. In spite of these steps toward decentralization, today Croatia exhibits low level of fiscal decentralization compared to EU and SEE countries. In the paper we show that large differences in fiscal capacity between local government units and their large reliance on received grants represent one of the main barriers for further decentralization process. Based on the analysis of the results of conducted interviews with representatives of local and regional units, we present recommendations for further process of decentralization.
The decentralization process was continuous in Romania starting with 1990, generating the implication of local authorities in local public finance, as a result of exclusives, shared and delegate competences and, so, the necessity of ensuring a good management of resources and expenditures. Therefore, the decentralization of competences / responsibilities from State to local governments was a major Romanian political theme and a first rank component of management of local public finance, as main driving instrument for local development. Specific legal framework of local responsibilities is established both to European and national level. Researchers based on regulation and practice have tried to quantify the responsibilities developing different models to measure local revenue and expenditures autonomy. The paper aims is to identify some models for measuring local expenditure autonomy and to apply for Romania. The study is oriented to measure local expenditure autonomy in Romania using Bell, Ebel, Kaiser and Rojchaichainthorn's model.
On the current stage, an important direction towards completion fiscal regulation is to regionalise economic and social processes, decentralize an important part of state functions on the local authorities. Herewith, to finance the expenditure by attaching appropriate income sources which will strengthen the role of local finances and assist the prosperity of regional economy. At the contemporary stage local budgets country, its separate regions development one of the most powerful leverage. Without them it is impossible political stability as in whole country, as in its separate regions. Local budget funds, social infrastructure forming are one of the major sources. Developed countries local budgets, density spare of social expenditures are higher than the state budgets. Local budget expenditures, especially on social provision spent funds promote in society social conflict softening that in contemporary conditions of each county’s sustainable development stipulating factor.
This paper’s purpose is to analyse the financial situation of the local authorities in the EU countries and to consider alternative funding through public-private partnership. Both because of the economic and financial crises that has affected the earned income but also because of the decentralization process that has enlarged the responsibilities, local authorities are put into difficulty in providing public services at a higher quality level and starting new public investments. Empirical research on this track will reveal the public role that the public-private partnership can play at a local level, but also various obstacles that inhibit its usage in some of the EU countries. In this article we also aim to determine certain methods to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of increasing public-private use at a local level. Thus, we emphasize the context in which public-private partnership is a local solution and that is sustainable on a long term. To achieve this objective we will make a foray into the literature and the specialty studies in the field and we will analyse the factual situation that exists at the level of local communities in EU countries.
Ivan Krešimir Lukić, Branka Martic, Berislav Bolfek
Republic of Croatia belongs in group of signifi cantly centralized countries. That means authority to make public decisions including financing system of local self government units (LSGU) is in the hands of the central government. Decentralization process began in year 2001 but central government still procures majority of state revenue and spends the most of the public expenditure. Various aspect research and analysis of fiscal capacities produces data pointing out the problem of inadequate fiscal capacity for providing equal level of public services in all of the local communities as lay down by law. Planning process in LSGU is hampered by absence of legal acts regulating practical role of the local government and administration. Unstable affl uence of finance resources presents significant bottleneck in successful management while uncertainty of financial assets availability prevents many of local governments in detailed planning and execution of any of development measures, within medium-term plan. Within many local units basis of local revenue is too weak for local government to independently carry out development measures.
Fiscal decentralization is an important influence factor on the autonomy of local government. To the extent in which a local government benefits from amounts and transfers from the central government, it depends on it and has a reduced capacity to make decisions about the services they provide to citizens, local autonomy being limited. Even if the legal framework for decentralization was created in Romania, we still can not talk about a high degree of financial autonomy of local governments. Further, significant amounts from the state budget are transferred to local budgets to cover local expenses. Moreover, despite consistent efforts to implement the decentralization process, there is a series of imbalances, especially in smaller territorial administrative units that are clearly disadvantaged both in terms of financial capacity to finance themselves through local taxes and duties, and especially in terms of the low absorption capacity of European funds. In general, in Romania, the degree of financial autonomy differs nationally from the city level and from the village level.
New Public Management (NPM) is considered as a global paradigm emerging in response to economic, institutional, political, and ideological changes.Many attempts to define the New Public Management have been made and there are several definitions of this notion, referring to the implementation of management ideas from business and private sector into the public services.Over the past few years, Romania has been facing a great challenge as it has to enhance its public management for achieving the European standards and values of transparency, predictability, accountability, adaptability and efficiency. The necessity of a modern administration at European standards exists both at the level of the citizen, and at the level of institutions delivering public services.According to the provisions of its last stand-by arrangement with IMF, Romania placed emphasis on restoring medium- and long-term sustainability and paved the way for future growth. Structural reforms were a large component of the program, including tax administration, pensions, public wages and employment, and social benefits, improving public sector efficiency, as well as enhancing the business environment. Since 2009 a public financial management structure was introduced for multi-year budgeting while limiting intra-year budget revisions. Fiscal rules were introduced on spending, public debt and primary deficit, and a framework for managing guarantees and other contingent liabilities was approved. Local public finance law was amended to bolster fiscal discipline and limit risks from local governments.Thus, presently, the legal framework envisages the use of new instruments and structures to support local administration authorities to increase their administrative capacity in order to perform in accordance with their new authority and thereby increases the quality of the already decentralized public services.The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) ' the total quality management tool was introduced in Romania, public institutions acknowledging the need for change and improvement, the importance of people'(tm)s involvement within the organization'(tm)s self-assessment process, the importance of measuring the results, objectives prioritization, the need to assume responsibility for the identified improvement actions, as well as the need to share knowledge and experience.Most of the Romanian public institutions apply the diagnosis obtained through CAF implementation as a solid ground to develop and implement their Multi-annual Modernizing Strategies, thus assuring the sustainability of the results accomplished so far.Concluding, we consider that the changes incurred and the significant transformation of Romanian public services include important elements of NPM.
Андреас Каппелер, Albert Solé‐Ollé, Andreas Stephan, Timo Välilä
Spending on productive infrastructure is seen as an important contributor to long term economic growth. Several authors have documented a downward trend in public investment during the last three decades and warned about its possible detrimental effects on the economy. A not well-realized fact is that productive infrastructure investment is mostly provided by sub-national governments. The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of revenue decentralization on the provision of infrastructure at the sub-national level. We estimate the effects of revenue decentralization and earmarked grant financing on the level of sub-national infrastructure investment in 20 European countries over the period 1990-2009. The findings are compared to those obtained when using sub-national investment in redistribution, for which the theory predictions are different. To account for the high auto-correlation in the dependent variable, we apply a dynamic panel data approach. In particular, we use a Corrected Least Squares Dummy Variable (LSDVC) estimator with the lagged dependent variable included to account for the dynamic character of the dependent variable. The empirical analysis shows that decentralisation in terms of tax shares increases public investment in infrastructure; public investment in redistribution is not significantly affected by decentralisation. The positive link between total regional investment and decentralisation suggests that decentralisation on regional infrastructure investment is additional and does not go hand in hand with a considerable reduction in other types of regional investment, such as health, education or safety. As to investment grants, they have a positive impact on both types of regional investment. The negative interaction between investment grants and decentralisation for regional infrastructure investment suggest that the impact of tax decentralisation on regional infrastructure investment declines with increasing receipts of investment grants by regional governments. This result is intuitive. As the significance of the tax-decentralisation parameter suggests, higher regional decision autonomy leads to more investment in infrastructure. Attempts to undermine the power of regions through the backdoor - e.g. by introducing conditional transfers - will at least partly offset the positive effect of decentralisation.
Financing of local authorities is currently at the Centre of the political discourse is a daily concern. Romania faces, usually with an attempt to offset the need for control and reduction of public spending with greater financial autonomy of local authorities. At the time, it was searched and searches for a path, a means to achieve a fair distribution of financial resources between the various levels of administration, budget reductions to all of them. If strengthening democracy means to strengthen local autonomy, then it means you have created a system for financing local authorities to be efficient, fair and pointing towards the economic needs of States. In other words, decentralization and local financing and the principle of subsidiarity are mutually dependent. Rightly, the decentralisation of financial management is considered to be the "backbone" of the administrative system of decentralisation, the financial resources being those which are operational link between the needs of local communities and the rules necessary to satisfy them. Thus, the lack of financial resources of the local self-government can result in failure to meet the needs of its members, which at the same time failure of administrative decentralization. The decentralisation of financial management can also be seen as the Government of some specific functions on the line of management authority and the tax revenue to the local public authorities.
Public sector support is important for SMEs due to the finance and stability it offers, the measures are often designed specifically to answer the problems SMEs face and they can help fill gaps in the existing capacities of the firms through the network of expertise the measures allow them to access. There has been an ongoing debate over what effect support services have on the development of assisted firms, and the initial high expectations about the effectiveness of these services now seem overoptimistic, giving rise to more critical examinations of the effectiveness of these services and the institutions involved. With 93 technology-based SMEs in North Wales during a period of relative decentralization of provision of public business services and support in Wales, this study investigates: (1) how technology-based SMEs in North Wales perceive the quality of the services provided by local or national public support organizations; (2) if gaps exist in support then how differently these gaps are perceived by high and low performing firms; and (3) what services they perceive helpful to their business performance, and how differently these services are perceived by high and low performing firms.
The current Albanian Constitution (1998) defines communes and municipalities (local governments) as the basic units of local governments. Local governments are legal entities and perform all the duties of self-government, with the exception of those that the law gives to other units. There are a total of 373 local governments units, consisting of 65 municipalities and 308 communes. While municipalities govern urban areas and the communes rural areas, there is no substantive legal distinction between them. The fiscal decentralization reform in Albania has addressed the issue of adequate local recourses proportional to the competences. The decentralization of functions were supported with an increase of financing opportunities either through the increase of transfers from the state budget or by adopting the new system of local taxes and fees, the latter one by providing total discretion to the local government in setting local tariff policies to cover the cost of their services. Unfunded mandates can represent a risk if not addressed in an appropriate manner. In this article we are going to discuss about the local resources as instruments to increase the autonomy of the local governments versus the resources from the central government. The balance between the resources from the central government and the local own revenue should be, as much as possible equal.
Андреас Каппелер, Albert Solé Ollé, Andreas Stephan, Timo Välilä
The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of revenue decentralization on\nthe provision of infrastructure at the sub-national level. We estimate the effects of revenue\ndecentralization and earmarked grant financing on the level of sub-national infrastructure\ninvestment in 20 European countries over the period 1990-2009. The results are interpreted\nin light of the predictions of the theory on fiscal federalism. We find that it is sub-national\ninfrastructure investment that increases after revenue decentralization and not investment in\nredistribution. However, the effect of revenue decentralization is lower the higher the use of\nearmarked grants to fund infrastructure investment
Polish Abstract: Rozwoj edukacji jest jednym z priorytetow polityki Unii Europejskiej od początkow jej istnienia. W ciągu ostatnich 15 lat szczegolny nacisk kladziony jest na modernizacje szkolnictwa wyzszego, ktore postrzegane jest jako kluczowe dla rozwoju zarowno calej Unii Europejskiej, poszczegolnych panstw czlonkowskich, jak i indywidualnych obywateli. Postulowane reformy wymagają zmian w obszarze zarządzania, jak i finansowania uczelni, a w szczegolności odejścia od scentralizowanego finansowania zorientowanego na zasoby w kierunku zdecentralizowanego finansowania zorientowanego na wyniki. Transformacja ta powoduje koniecznośc mierzenia efektywności i skuteczności szkolnictwa wyzszego w roznych jego aspektach, w tym rowniez w obszarze edukacji. Artykul koncentruje sie na badaniu mozliwości zastosowania modelu J. Mincera do mierzenia wplywu wyzszego wyksztalcenia na poziom wynagrodzen i wyznaczania tzw. prywatnej stopy zwrotu z inwestycji w edukacje. Badania empiryczne przeprowadzone są na danych pochodzących z niemieckiego badania panelowego SOEP.English Abstract: The development of educational system has been one of the priorities of European Union policy since the beginning of its existence. In the course of the last 15 years particularly strong emphasis has been placed on modernization of higher education, which is perceived as key factor for development of European Union, each member state separately, as well as individual EU citizens. The postulated reforms require changes both in the area of governance and funding of the universities, in particular a shift form centralized input oriented funding mechanisms towards decentralized outcome oriented financing is needed. This transformation causes necessity for measurement of efficiency and effectiveness of various aspects of higher universities activities, including education area. The paper focuses on application of Mincer model in analysis of higher education influence on the level of wages in order to determine the private rate of return to education. Empirical research have been conducted using the data from German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP).
The analysis of the administrative capacity of institutions in the regional development starts from the analysis of the existing framework for the implementation of regional politics in Romania and studies the extent to what the structures and competencies were regionally enlarged as to contribute in the regional development. The basic hypothesis considered for such analysis had in view the fact that the differences recorded with respect to the implementation capacity of the regional development policy are caused by the various levels of the administrative capacity of the national, regional and local institutions existent in Romania. Although the regional development activity is, both centrally and regionally, dominated by the Regional Operational Programmme 2007-2013 (ROP) implementation, significant activity also exists outside the ROP, but only regionally. The regional strategies incorporate to a great extent the strategic objectives established nationally, being coordinated with the national financing instruments for economic, social and territorial development. The undertaking degree of responsibilities regarding the objectives fulfillment of the regional development policy is relatively low both regionally and locally, and the main indicator which contributes in sustaining this conclusion is the absence of an adequate level regarding the property holding on certain strategies and also the methodological lack of strategies. Nationally, the current activity of Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism in the field of regional development totally overlaps the management activity of ROP. The management of structural funds 2007-2013 granted through ROP deals with various situations in which, due to the fact that the Law of regional development remained behind the legislation for the structural instruments implementation in Romania, additional resources are necessary to be granted in order to be found solutions through other types of regulations. The Romanian legal and institutional setting allowed a centralized top-down approach for the regional development process and brought forward the approach of the type â€Å"local development which falls among certain priorities of regional development established nationally†. Definitely, the local development is important for the regional development, but it is not self-sufficient in this respect. Therefore, the centralized approach should be completed by a decentralized approach, as a natural next phase.
The main goal of this paper is to establish grounds for a more efficient development of local communities taking into consideration their entire former development characterized by a pronounced polarization and territorial inequality of development exhibited among them in extreme proportions. In view of the insufficient and inadequate decentralization performed without a specific concept in the past, the authors aim to analyze the state of the local infrastructure within the framework of territorial organization offered by the latest regulations, as well as estimate the goals set in the last couple of years by the support programs related to the development of local infrastructure provided by the international institutions. The authors have a similar goal in that sense to provide sufficient argumentation for a quality distribution of local infrastructure and, accordingly, more efficient local development as a prerequisite for a more uniform regional development, especially in rural areas.
The Nordic countries are small, unitary, and have largely homogeneous populations. Municipalities are the most important agents in the decentralized public sector and the middle tier (the county level) is losing importance. The expenditure of Nordic local authorities exceeds that in Canada by 10 percent of GDP. The difference represents the effect of local income taxes. Large local expenditures are for kindergartens, primary schools, social welfare, care for the elderly, and culture. These welfare functions are not, however, local public goods; local governments serve mostly as agents for the delivery of national public services. This situation creates complicated problems of control. Amalgamations in several Nordic countries have been carried out to improve the capacity of local authorities to deliver services. Other approaches include joint production and contracting out. The local income tax is a big revenue-raiser, but has some undesirable side effects. Some Nordic countries have a company tax, but this tax raises questions of accountability and fairness, and has been phased out in several places. Nordic countries use methods of tax base equalization which transfer contributions from wealthy jurisdictions to poorer ones. Equalization also involves complicated efforts to deal with the special expenditure needs of cities.
Nowadays, global economy has to face some difficulties, especially since the financial crisis is still a present factor in our economy. This research paper emphasizes the importance of adopting, especially during instability periods, coherent measures by all those who have the power of decision in terms of local budgetary revenue collection and expenditure destination. It is necessary that the regional development dimensions to be conceived according to the diversity of nations, their historical background, but also the cultural, economic and social development discrepancies. We have also underlined the connection between regional development, local autonomy and decentralization, mainly the administrative decentralization, as these concepts define the transfer of responsibilities for the planning, financing and management of certain public functions from the central Government to subordinate units or regional and local authorities. The article focuses on the Global Index of Development and its specific indicators which reveal region’s social-economic and financial performance.
After 1990, Hungary took steps toward decentralizing public administration and decision-making power. Administrative decentralization, however, was not matched by the same level of fiscal decentralization, creating tension and disparities among Hungarian municipalities. The revenue-raising ability of local governments in Hungary—especially after the economic downturn in 2008—is very low. The debt service of municipalities is also considerably higher than before 2008, a situation that can be explained in part by the change in the value of Hungarian forint relative to the Euro and the Swiss franc, the currencies in which half of Hungarian local debt is denominated. This situation is sharpened by unhealthy municipal financing practices, such as financing operating expenses from investment revenues or from loans. The indebtedness of the municipal sector increased 12.6 times from 2001 to 2007, and in 2007 about 83 percent of municipal borrowing was not backed by immobile assets or any revenue stream. This paper examines the system of municipal finance in Hungary with special attention to the current changes in the regulation and finance of Hungarian municipalities and the change in central control over municipal finances in general after 2008 (in part precipitated by the failure of borrowing rules created during the transitional period to prevent the current crisis in municipal finance), and suggests possible reforms to solve the financing problems of Hungarian municipalities.
Open access
Regional Development and Policy
Hungarian Social, Economic and Educational Studies
The importance of the local public finance is growing in accordance with the increasing proportion of the decentralization process. The mechanism of resource allocation, and especially the allocation criteria used, constitutes subjects of debate. Our objective pursued is to assess whether the avoidance of the first step for balancing the allocation of funds can provide enhanced fairness in balancing the local budgets across the country. Local budgets in Romania receive significant resources from the state budget in the form of amounts and quotas distributed from certain taxes, which are revenues for the state budget. Some of these amounts are designed to balance the local budgets. The distribution of funds from the state budget to the local budgets requires two steps. Firstly, the amounts are divided by county, secondly, these amounts are directed within the county especially towards localities which have a lower financial standing. Given the significant disparities between counties, we believe that this mechanism does not ensure fairness in the allocation because the funds distributed according to the first step may not use fair criteria to meet the requirements for balanced local budgets. Therefore, we intend to simulate a balanced allocation of national funds for eliminating the first step that produces the most significant inequities. Direct application of the second step of allocation, with its two phases, will provide more funds serving those local administrative units for the income tax per capita is lower than the national average. Comparing the values allocated for the year 2011 with those obtained in the simulation we will examine changes that occur after the application of this method which seems to be more equitable and appropriate. This work was supported by CNCSIS-UEFISCSU, project number PNII-IDEI 1780/2008
Romania's integration in the European Union implies, apart the complex process of policy transfer, the learning of new modes to make policies characteristic to a multi-level governance and partnership culture. Of the different levels of governance of the European model, the regional level ("regional governance") most faithfully reflects, in our opinion, the complexity of reconfiguring the role of state in economy, at the beginning of this new millennium, in the European Union space and presents the highest practical importance for Romania, as a new Member State of the European Union, for, at the regional level, the structures are more flexible and the good practices are more rapidly assimilable. The selection of the best regional growth and development economic policies, the choosing of the objectives out of a series of competing options, the calibration in time and space of powers, roles, capabilities, and responsibilities and the encouragement of the win-win solutions call upon the choice and combination of some appropriate and efficient instruments. Representative for the new context, the regional growth and development policy must integrate, in Romania too, more knowledge, more creativity, new combinations of capabilities and new fields of expertise. This paper presents preliminary research results afferent to the post-doctoral research project: "Growth and regional development economic policies. Challenges for Romania in the context of economic-financial crisis and European model integration", carried out in the project "Economic scientific research, reliance of human welfare and development in European context", the Romanian Academy, "Costin C. Kiriţescu" National Institute for Economic Research, project financed for the 2010-2013 period from the European Social Fund (EFS) and implemented by the Romanian Academy, Costin C. Kiritescu National Institute for Economic Research, in the period of time 1 December 2010 - 30 November 2012, coordinator: Professor Dr. Valeriu Ioan Franc. The question we intend to answer, in the present phase of our research, based on the comparative analysis of the decentralisation systems of several Member States of European Union, respectively on the analysis of the regional disparities existing at the European Union level and of the effects of the economic integration, is- to what extent the capabilities of the regional policy should rather be concentrated in the hands of regional authorities or of the European Union than to be left individually to the Member States which should conceive their own regional policy? What we intend in this paper, based on the analysis of some experiences to decentralize the capabilities of economic policy at the European Union level, is to identify the regional implications of the interconnection of decentralization, centralization, respectively supra-nationalization tendencies and, implicitly, the analysis of the way to reconfigure the role of state in economy at the regional level, in the context of integration in the European model. The examination of the way to reconfigure the role of state in economy at regional level requires the review of the allocative, distributive, and regulating roles of the state from a regional perspective, the analysis, on one side, of the decentralization of economic policy capabilities from the national level to the regional level (for example, national level: pure public goods supply, for instance, national defence and the centralization of fiscal policy capabilities in order to achieve macroeconomic stability and revenue redistribution; regional level: mixed public goods supply, for instance, waste collection and community policy), on the other hand, the centralization/decentralization of regional capabilities at the European Union level.