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Fiscal consolidation and decentralisation: a tale of two tiers

Author

Listed:
  • Julia Darby
  • V. Anton Muscatelli
  • Graeme Roy

Abstract

This paper contributes to the established literature on fiscal consolidations by investigating the distinct behaviour of central and sub-central tiers of government during general government consolidation attempts. In the light of different degrees of decentralisation across OECD countries, and the different responsibilities devolved to sub-central tiers, we believe that this approach offers an illuminating insight into the analysis of fiscal consolidations and their success. We show that the involvement of the sub-central tiers of government is crucial to achieving cuts in expenditure, particularly in relation to the overall size of the government wage bill. In addition, central governments appear to exert a strong influence on the expenditure of sub-central tiers through their grant allocations, and control of these allocations appears to have a considerable impact upon the overall success of consolidation attempts. Finally, we demonstrate that there is a skewness in cuts towards sub-central capital expenditure both when central governments cut grant allocations and when sub-central governments engage in lone consolidation attempts.

Suggested Citation

  • Julia Darby & V. Anton Muscatelli & Graeme Roy, 2005. "Fiscal consolidation and decentralisation: a tale of two tiers," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 169-195, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:fistud:v:26:y:2005:i:2:p:169-195
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    Cited by:

    1. Vincent C. Blackburn & Richard Gerlach & Vasilis Sarafidis, 2007. "Dynamic Budgetary Adjustments in the Australian State Government Finance Sector: An Econometric Approach," Journal of Economics and Management, College of Business, Feng Chia University, Taiwan, vol. 3(2), pages 125-159, July.
    2. Julia Darby & Muscatelli Anton & Graeme Roy, 2004. "Fiscal Federalism, Fiscal Consolidations and Cuts in Central Government Grants: Evidence from an Event Study," ERSA conference papers ersa04p366, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Fatih Ozatay, 2008. "Expansionary Fiscal Consolidations: New Evidence from Turkey," Working Papers 0805, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Department of Economics.
    4. John Thornton, 2009. "On the relation between central and sub-national government fiscal balances," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(6), pages 603-608.
    5. Leonardo Cezar RIBEIRO & Carlos Eduardo GASPARINI & Thiago Costa Monteiro CALDEIRA, 2023. "Intergovernmental coordination and fiscal performance," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, EconSciences Journals, vol. 10(3-4), pages 104-120, September.
    6. Albert Solé-Ollé & Pilar Sorribas-Navarro, 2009. "The dynamic adjustment of local government budgets: does Spain behave differently?," Working Papers 2009/7, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    7. Albert Sol魏ll頍 & Pilar Sorribas-Navarro, 2012. "The dynamic adjustment of local government budgets: does Spain behave differently?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(25), pages 3203-3213, September.
    8. Mr. Alexander Plekhanov & Mr. Manmohan S. Kumar & Mr. Daniel Leigh, 2007. "Fiscal Adjustments: Determinants and Macroeconomic Consequences," IMF Working Papers 2007/178, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Qing Zhao & Chih-Hung Yuan, 2025. "Does Fiscal Vertical Imbalance Enhance the Economic Resilience of Chinese Cities?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-17, March.
    10. Afonso, António & Alves, José & Jalles, João Tovar & Monteiro, Sofia, 2024. "Beyond the centre: Tracing Decentralization's influence on time-varying fiscal sustainability," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    11. Peter Claeys & Raúl Ramos & Jordi Suriñach, 2008. "Fiscal sustainability across government tiers," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 139-163, July.
    12. Julia Darby & Anton Muscatelli & Graeme Roy, 2006. "Asymmetries in the Responses of Sub-Central Governments to Changes in Grants: Evidence From an Event Study," ERSA conference papers ersa06p508, European Regional Science Association.
    13. Siniša Mali & Lenka MaliCká, 2023. "Impact of Fiscal Decentralization on Fiscal Stance in EU: Real Deal or Econometric Illusion?," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 246(3), pages 71-99, September.
    14. Lars P. Feld & Ekkehard A. Köhler & Julia Wolfinger, 2020. "Modeling fiscal sustainability in dynamic macro-panels with heterogeneous effects: evidence from German federal states," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(1), pages 215-239, February.
    15. Manaswini Panda & Chittaranjan Nayak, 2025. "Fiscal Consolidation in the Indian States: A Status Assessment," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 23(4), pages 1091-1116, December.
    16. Santiago Lago-Peñas & Agnese Sacchi & Pablo Simon-Cosano, 2014. "Who honor the rules of federalism? Party system nationalization and fiscal performance," Working Papers. Collection A: Public economics, governance and decentralization 1409, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.
    17. Eyraud, Luc & Lusinyan, Lusine, 2013. "Vertical fiscal imbalances and fiscal performance in advanced economies," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(5), pages 571-587.
    18. Albert Solé-Ollé & Pilar Sorribas-Navarro, 2012. "The dynamic adjustment of local government budgets: does Spain behave differently?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(25), pages 3203-3213, September.
    19. Chiara Oldani & Temirlan Moldogaziev, 2025. "Revisiting the fiscal drivers of subnational borrowing: a comparative analysis of Italian regions and the American states," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 15(4), pages 1069-1097, December.
    20. Dirk Foremny & Agnese Sacchi & Simone Salotti, 2017. "Decentralization and the duration of fiscal consolidation: shifting the burden across layers of government," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 171(3), pages 359-387, June.
    21. Julia Darby & V. Anton Muscatelli & Graeme Roy, "undated". "Fiscal Federalism and Fiscal Consolidation: Evidence from an Event Study," Working Papers 2005_21, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow, revised Jun 2005.

    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
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government

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