Local Public Finance and Financial Issues : the Foreign Experiences (Germany, Spain, United States, United Kingdom)

The structure of subnational governments as well as their level of fiscal and financial autonomy vary a lot among the four countries reviewed (Germany, Spain, United States, United Kingdom) both in terms of local powers and own resources of local governments. While local governments account for a large share of public investment and employment, these indicators vary by a factor of three across the four countries, depending on the nature of the public policies they are in charge of, particularly in the social area. The way of covering external financing needs for subnational governments is also very diverse, some countries being characterized by a higher recourse to capital markets by bond-issuance (United States, Germany) whereas public financial institutions predominate in local financing in other (in United Kingdom and more recently in Spain). Despite these differences, the States under review have implemented similar frameworks to control local public expenditures and are facing comparable challenges in reducing subnational government's debt and deficit, especially in Europe, in a context of fiscal adjustment.