H77 - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism; SecessionNávrat zpět

The essence of fiscal decentralization is to increase economic efficiency in the redistribution of resources in the public sector through more effective satisfaction of local public needs by lower levels of government. The article aims to quantify the optimal degree of fiscal decentralization in relation to economic growth in a sample of 29 OECD countries for the years 1975-2018. Empirical research has shown a nonlinear relationship between the degree of fiscal decentralization and economic growth, which takes a parabolic shape. The optimal degree of fiscal decentralization maximizing economic growth reached the level of 31.3656%, or in the case of per capita growth, the level is 31.1309%. In most V4 countries, the degree of fiscal decentralization is at a lower level compared to the optimal one, which is not leading to maximization of economic growth, or economic growth per capita.

An increase in municipal financial autonomy in Slovakia in connection with the fiscal decentralization during the monitored period 2000–2016 is observable after its implementation (2005) with a certain derogation in the period of the financial crisis (2009). The aim of the paper is to point out its formal increase through vertical fiscal imbalance. It is caused by the dominant position of shared tax revenues in the municipal budgets. Dumitrescu-Hurlin Panel Granger Causality test confirms a relationship between municipal financial autonomy and vertical fiscal imbalance, which points to a transfer dependency of municipalities on central government. Using the cross-correlation, the expected inverse relation between analysed categories is confirmed in the current period. Statistically significant positive correlation coefficients in the case of lag order point to important timing focusing on the period of implementation of reforms and certain economic effects, e.g., financial crisis and economic recovery.