IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v33y2025i5p7336-7362.html

Fiscal Autonomy and the Path to Sustainable Local Economic Development: A Multilevel Municipal Analysis in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Nara Monkam
  • Charles Shaaba Saba

Abstract

Despite fiscal reforms aimed at achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 17.1—strengthening domestic resource mobilization for development—the impact of fiscal autonomy on local economic development (LED) in South Africa remains underexplored. Therefore, this study examines the impact of fiscal autonomy across 248 municipalities from 2009 to 2023, employing a range of advanced econometric methods. The results highlight a complex relationship: System Generalized Method of Moments analysis shows fiscal autonomy negatively affects LED in metropolitan municipalities (Category A) but has positive effects in the full sample, as well as in district (Category C) and local municipalities (Category B). The methods of moments quantile bootstrap regression shows that fiscal autonomy promotes LED across all quantiles for the full sample and in Category B. However, Category A exhibits a negative impact, whereas Category B shows an insignificant negative effect across all quantiles. These findings emphasize the need for differentiated policies. Metropolitan municipalities require targeted governance and fiscal reforms to mitigate negative outcomes while expanding fiscal autonomy for local and district municipalities could significantly enhance LED. This research offers practical insights for tailored fiscal strategies, promoting sustainable economic growth across South Africa's varied municipal landscapes.

Suggested Citation

  • Nara Monkam & Charles Shaaba Saba, 2025. "Fiscal Autonomy and the Path to Sustainable Local Economic Development: A Multilevel Municipal Analysis in South Africa," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 7336-7362, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:5:p:7336-7362
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.3514
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3514
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.3514?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qiao, Baoyun & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & Xu, Yongsheng, 2008. "The tradeoff between growth and equity in decentralization policy: China's experience," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 112-128, April.
    2. Jose A. Puppim De Oliveira & Yijia Jing & Paul Collins & Paul Smoke, 2015. "Rethinking Decentralization: Assessing Challenges to a Popular Public Sector Reform," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(2), pages 97-112, May.
    3. Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & McNab, Robert M., 2003. "Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 1597-1616, September.
    4. John C. Driscoll & Aart C. Kraay, 1998. "Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation With Spatially Dependent Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 549-560, November.
    5. Shah, Anwar, 2004. "Fiscal decentralization in developing and transition economies: progress, problems, and the promise," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3282, The World Bank.
    6. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    7. Faguet, Jean-Paul, 2004. "Does decentralization increase government responsiveness to local needs?: Evidence from Bolivia," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3-4), pages 867-893, March.
    8. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    9. Charles M. Tiebout, 1956. "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(5), pages 416-416.
    10. Roy Bahl & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2013. "Sequencing Fiscal Decentralization," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 14(2), pages 641-687, November.
    11. Hashem Pesaran, M. & Yamagata, Takashi, 2008. "Testing slope homogeneity in large panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 50-93, January.
    12. Baltagi, Badi H. & Egger, Peter & Pfaffermayr, Michael, 2007. "Estimating models of complex FDI: Are there third-country effects?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 260-281, September.
    13. David Powell, 2022. "Quantile regression with nonadditive fixed effects," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(5), pages 2675-2691, November.
    14. Imran Hanif & Sally Wallace & Pilar Gago-de-Santos, 2020. "Economic Growth by Means of Fiscal Decentralization: An Empirical Study for Federal Developing Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, October.
    15. Meloche, Jean-Philippe & Vaillancourt, Francois & Yilmaz, Serdar, 2004. "Decentralization or fiscal autonomy ? What does really matter ? effects on growth and public sector size in European transition countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3254, The World Bank.
    16. Ivan Turok, 2014. "The Resilience of South African Cities a Decade after Local Democracy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(4), pages 749-769, April.
    17. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Roberto Ezcurra, 2011. "Is fiscal decentralization harmful for economic growth? Evidence from the OECD countries," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(4), pages 619-643, July.
    18. Wallace E. Oates, 2004. "Environmental Policy and Fiscal Federalism," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3284.
    19. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    20. Lorenzo Boetti & Massimiliano Piacenza & Gilberto Turati, 2012. "Decentralization and Local Governments' Performance: How Does Fiscal Autonomy Affect Spending Efficiency?," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 68(3), pages 269-302, September.
    21. Agnese Sacchi & Simone Salotti, 2014. "How Regional Inequality Affects Fiscal Decentralisation: Accounting for the Autonomy of Subcentral Governments," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 32(1), pages 144-162, February.
    22. Nara F Monkam, 2014. "Local municipality productive efficiency and its determinants in South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(2), pages 275-298, March.
    23. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    24. Michael Kitson & Ron Martin & Peter Tyler, 2004. "Regional Competitiveness: An Elusive yet Key Concept?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(9), pages 991-999.
    25. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    26. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    27. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Canh Phuc Nguyen & Nguyen Doan & Binh Quang Nguyen & Huong Doan, 2026. "Regional authority and the shadow economy," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-66, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tristan Canare, 2022. "Decentralization and welfare: Evidence from a panel of countries," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(3), pages 767-796, September.
    2. Jia, Junxue & Guo, Qingwang & Zhang, Jing, 2014. "Fiscal decentralization and local expenditure policy in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 107-122.
    3. Constant Fouopi Djiogap & Justin Romuald Amougou Manga & Simon Pierre Onana & Fabrice Ewolo Bitoto, 2024. "Does fiscal decentralization improve people's access to health and education services in Cameroon?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 36(3), pages 457-470, September.
    4. Tarik Dogru & Umit Bulut & Ercan Sirakaya-Turk, 2021. "Modeling tourism demand: Theoretical and empirical considerations for future research," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(4), pages 874-889, June.
    5. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Banerjee, Ameet Kumar & Boubaker, Sabri, 2025. "Government intervention and green innovation in renewable energy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    6. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Vidal-Bover, MIquel, 2022. "Unfunded mandates and the economic impact of decentralisation. When finance does not follow function," CEPR Discussion Papers 17613, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    7. Tristan Canare & Jamil Paolo Francisco & Rose Ann Camille Caliso, 2020. "Decentralization and Income Inequality in a Panel and Cross‐Section of Countries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 543-579, May.
    8. Carlos Usabiaga & E. Macarena Hernández-Salmerón, 2016. "Regional Growth and Convergence in Spain: Is the Decentralization Model Important?," EcoMod2016 9358, EcoMod.
    9. Holger Zemanek & Ansgar Belke & Gunther Schnabl, 2009. "Current Account Imbalances and Structural Adjustment in the Euro Area: How to Rebalance Competitiveness," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 895, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    10. Baumann Robert & Engelhardt Bryan & Matheson Victor A., 2012. "Employment Effects of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 232(3), pages 308-317, June.
    11. Simplice A. Asongu & Joseph Nnanna & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2020. "Finance, Institutions and Private Investment in Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 20/080, African Governance and Development Institute..
    12. Shreya Pal, 2024. "The International Capital Flows and Domestic Savings–domestic Investment Nexus: A Comparative Evidence Between Heterogeneous Developing Regions," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 13(2), pages 169-212, December.
    13. Andrea Filippetti & Agnese Sacchi, 2016. "Decentralization and economic growth reconsidered: The role of regional authority," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(8), pages 1793-1824, December.
    14. Anis Ochi & Makram Nouaili & Yosra Saidi & Amine Haouas & Anis Saidi, 2026. "Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Arab Countries: Do Institutions, Financial Development, and Knowledge Economy Matter?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 17(2), pages 5145-5179, April.
    15. Xiaoxin Ma & Qiang Fu, 2020. "The Influence of Financial Development on Energy Consumption: Worldwide Evidence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-15, February.
    16. Yalta, A. Yasemin & Yalta, A. Talha, 2012. "Does financial liberalization decrease capital flight? A panel causality analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 92-100.
    17. Gharehgozli, Orkideh, 2021. "An empirical comparison between a regression framework and the Synthetic Control Method," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 70-81.
    18. Sung, Bongsuk & Song, Woo-Yong & Park, Sang-Do, 2018. "How foreign direct investment affects CO2 emission levels in the Chinese manufacturing industry: Evidence from panel data," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 320-331.
    19. Mamkhezri, Jamal, 2025. "Assessing price elasticity in US residential electricity consumption: A comparison of monthly and annual data with recession implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    20. Peñasco, Cristina & del Río, Pablo & Romero-Jordán, Desiderio, 2017. "Gas and electricity demand in Spanish manufacturing industries: An analysis using homogeneous and heterogeneous estimators," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 45-60.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:5:p:7336-7362. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.