The Future of Fiscal Decentralization in Southeast Europe: What is on the Horizon?

Abstract

Although the current post-decentralization decade offers much more tranquility for practitioners of the fiscal decentralization, decentralization scholars should not fall asleep. Some of the awakening questions are: where is the decentralizing limit? What is the likelihood of fiscal decentralization reconstructing the intergovernmental relations in a way that leads to federalization of unitary countries in Southeast Europe? Even though we focus on the Macedonian experience, the main findings largely hold for the entire region. The study aims to provide new, interdisciplinary understanding of the implications and perspectives of decentralization, overcoming the limitations when adopting a purely legal, economic or political perspective.