Regional Financing in Germany and Spain: Comparative Reform Perspectives

Abstract

Reforms of regional financing are due soon or even overdue in Spain and in Germany. This research paper compares the systems of regional financing in both countries, describes their financial outcomes, benchmarks them against criteria taken from the modern theory of fiscal federalism and extracts some lessons for reform from this endeavor. These lessons may also prove interesting from a broader European and OECD perspective as other Member States face comparable challenges.