Review article

https://doi.org/10.3326/pse.42.4.4

Determinants of subnational budget/fiscal transparency: a review of empirical evidence

Branko Stanić orcid.org/0000-0002-8746-6764 ; Institute of Public Finance, Zagreb

Abstract

This paper provides a review of empirical research on the factors determining the budget/fiscal transparency of subnational governments. It focuses on academic online databases by conducting keyword searches that take in papers published in the period 2000-2017. Three important observations can be made: (1) there is a lack of a unique definition of budget/fiscal transparency; (2) the different definitions lead to disharmonised budget/fiscal transparency measurements; (3) there is a heterogeneity of the definition and measurement of some explanatory variables that can lead to apparent contradictions and inconsistencies in the results obtained. However, the paper provides a balanced account of core explanatory factors, emphasizing variables that, despite heterogeneity in definition and measurement, have a significant impact on the levels of subnational government budget/ fiscal transparency. Since the review involves mainly online disclosure, future studies might want to extend the observation period, or implement systematic reviews and meta-analyses to gain additional insights on this topic.

Keywords

subnational governments; budget transparency; empirical review; main determinants

Hrčak ID:

212698

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/212698

Publication date:

14.12.2018.

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