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The Centralization-Decentralization Issue

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  • Charles Wyplosz

Abstract

The make-up of the EU institutions, and their evolution, should explicitly be based on widely accepted federalism principles. This paper applies federalism principles to a few crucial questions, mainly fiscal policy, fiscal discipline and structural reforms, using where possible lessons from existing federations. After introducing the topic, Section 2 briefly reviews the key message from the fiscal federalism literature. The following sections use these principles to examine a number of areas where centralization may be insufficient or excessive in the EU. Section 3 looks at public spending, both in the aggregate and my main functions. Taxes are examined in Section 4. The next section looks at the issue of fiscal discipline, a weak spot of the Eurozone. The allocation of policy competences, a key characteristic of the UE, is the object of Section 6. The last section concludes.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Wyplosz, 2015. "The Centralization-Decentralization Issue," European Economy - Discussion Papers 014, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    • Handle: RePEc:euf:dispap:014
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    File URL: https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/centralization-decentralization-issue_en
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    Cited by:

    1. Giacomo Benedetto, 2017. "Institutions and the route to reform of the European Union’s budget revenue, 1970–2017," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 44(4), pages 615-633, November.
    2. Francisco J. Delgado, 2021. "On the Determinants of Fiscal Decentralization: Evidence From the EU," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(56), pages 206-206, February.
    3. Jeroen Hessel & Niels Gilbert & Jasper de Jong, 2017. "Capitalising on the euro. Options for strengthening the EMU," DNB Occasional Studies 1502, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    4. Rekova Nataliia Yu. & Vishnevsky Valentine P., 2016. "Principles, Economic and Institutional Prerequisites for Fiscal Decentralization under Conditions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction," The Problems of Economy, RESEARCH CENTRE FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS of NAS (KHARKIV, UKRAINE), issue 4, pages 183-189.
    5. Vassilis Tselios & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2020. "Did Decentralisation Affect Citizens’ Perception of the European Union? The Impact during the Height of Decentralisation in Europe," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-26, May.
    6. Panagiotis Liargovas & Vasilis Pilichos & Anastasia Angelopoulou, 2021. "Fiscal governance and forecasting Bias: a case study of Greece during the economic crisis," Bulletin of Applied Economics, Risk Market Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 75-95.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations

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