Publication:
Croatia Subnational Public Finance Review

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2025-03-17
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2025-03-17
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The Subnational public finance report is the first in a series of World Bank reports that analyze local and regional government fiscal and financial developments in Croatia. The objective of this work is to offer policy advice on improving public service delivery in a fiscally efficient and sustainable manner, as well as promoting more balanced regional development. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of expenditure, revenue, and debt data for 576 subnational government units in Croatia. It offers and in-depth view into the spending patterns across the country with the focused analysis of the efficiency of spending for selected functions. It then examines the financing sources, particularly a variety of transfers from the central government towards subnational units and explores whether the changes in the approach for fiscal capacity calculation could make the distribution of these transfers more efficient and equitable. The policy actions listed are not exhaustive but together with an ongoing work on fiscal needs offer a key insight for the reform of the overall fiscal equalization system in Croatia.
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World Bank Group. 2025. Croatia Subnational Public Finance Review. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42964 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.
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