The Economics of Centralism and Local Autonomy

PART I: PROPERTY TAX AND FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION IN THE TWIN REPUBLICS: LAUNCHING THE TRANSFORMATION TO MARKET DEMOCRACY 'State Administration' vs. Self-Government in the Slovak and Czech Republics Taxes on Real Property in the Czech Republic Land and Building Taxes in the Republic of Slovakia Moral Hazard in Property Tax Administration Fiscal Decentralization in Economic Transformation PART II: SOURCES OF CZECH AND SLOVAK LOCAL REVENUES The Property Tax, Grants, and Other Sources of Local Revenues User Fees in Local Finance PART III: TOWARD THE END OF TRANSITION IN THE CZECH AND SLOVAK REPUBLICS: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION EFFORT Local Budgeting in the Czech and Slovak Republics A Survey of Perspectives on Intergovernmental Relations Property Tax and Local Finance in the Czech Republic Today Slovakia's Surge: Decentralization in the New Fiscal System PART IV: FINANCIAL CRISIS AND GLOBAL RECESSION: THE IMPACT ON EUROPE, THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC The Global Financial Crisis Subnational Finance Today and Tomorrow in the Czech Republic Subnational Finance Today and Tomorrow in the Slovak Republic

PHILLIP J. BRYSON is the Douglas and Effie Driggs Professor of Economics at the Marriott School, Brigham Young University, USA.

"One of the challenges facing transitional countries has been how to finance the often small and non-viable local self-governments that were often created in the early years. The discussion in this book of the divergent paths that have been taken with respect to fiscal decentralization by the Czech and Slovak Republics since they separated in 1993 casts considerable light on this issue. More broadly, the book should be of interest not only to those attempting to analyze and understand the development of the public sector in transitional countries but also to anyone concerned about the real meaning of local autonomy in any country." - Richard M. Bird, Professor Emeritus, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

"This book makes valuable contributions to comparative economics, to the understanding of regional decentralization of government functions and to our understanding of the process of transition in Central Europe. Bryson s description and analysis of the difficult process of empowering local governments to seek out tax revenues and to provide public services focuses attention on a key, but often neglected, aspect of transition from the communist centralized economy to one with multiple layers of government and of a measure of local autonomy for citizens. The comparison of this process in two countries, the Czech and Slovak Republics is an interesting exercise in comparative economics: both countries started with virtually identical government structures but each faced a different set of problems after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Moreover, fiscal decentralization played an important role in shaping democracy and in preparing the countries for EU accession. The field research and case studies on which parts of the book are based bring a sense of immediacy to the analysis, which should be of interest to a broad range of readers." - Josef. C. Brada, Professor of Economics, Arizona State University

"It has been two decades since