FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CROATIA

Autor u članku razmatra odnos fiskalnog sustava i regionalnog razvoja Hrvatske. U prvom dijelu teksta iznosi osnovne postavke teorije fiskalnog federalizma, poddiscipline unutar javnih financija. Tezu o centralizaciji javnih financija u Hrvatskoj promatra iznoseći komparativno iskustvo suvremenih fiskalnih sustava u unitarnim državama, koji pokazuju sličan stupanj centralizacije. Nakon toga ukazuje na značajke triju osnovnih sustava u vertikalnoj raspodjeli fiskalnih ovlasti: sustava separacije, zajednice i mješovitog sustava. Posebnu pažnju autor posvećuje razmatranju uloge međubudžetskih transfera u financiranju javnih potreba, negativno ocjenjujući nerazvijenost tog instituta u hrvatskom sustavu javnih financija.ln this text the author discusses the relationship between the fiscal system and regional development in Croatia. In the first part of the text the basic propositions of the theory of fiscal federalism, a subdiscipline within pUblic finances is presented. The thesis on the centralization of public finances in Croatia is regarded by presenting the comparative experience of contemporary fiscal systems in unitarian states, which showa similar degree of centralization. Subsequently, the characteristics of three basic systems in the vertical division of fiscal authority have been indicated: the system of separation, the system of community, and the mixed system. Special attention is devoted to analyzing the role of interbudget transfer in financing public needs, evaluating negatively the underdevelopment of this institute in the Croatian system of public finances