Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 20th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview Public Finance Author(s) Mihaly Lados HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies Gyor Hungary Title After twenty years: A chance for changes in local government finance in Hungary File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Mihaly Lados Abstract The paper would join the General track: East and West: Twenty Years of Development: Fiscal Policy and Public Finance of the working group. Twenty years in local governance and local government finance is a long period wich can be brroken down into several periods. At least for CEE cuntries which attend the European Uniion this 20 years consists of two major periods: 1. Transition - period until the assession of the country to the European Union 2. Post-transition - the actual period from the assession Both periods have own characteristics and driving forces which has some global and national effects. After the brief introduction of the Hungarian PA and local finance system, the first part of the paper analyses of the features of the two identified periods with a special tool of comparision. Firts, it is looking for the global trends of the given period which has effects on national regulation. Such global trends in the first period is decentralisation of te state and the theory on new public management. In the second period the Neo-Weberian State approach and the global financial crisis can be such global effects Additionally the effects of teh European Union on localgovernment finance is also discussed in both period. After global and the European issues the paper evaluates the reaction of local governments regarding the national regulation. The evaulation is based on the main factors of the two sides of local budget (revenues and expenditures) like government transfers, local revenues and credit system on the one hand, and operating and capital budgeting on the other hand. Over this 20 years the general problem of the Hungarian local government system is the disharmony between the scale of local governents and the allocation of functions and resources. This contradictory sitiuation is known and clear since 10-15 years. However, the major change was not possible because the missing two-third majority in the Parliament to reform Act on Local Governments. Since the last election (2010) the governemnt party has this majority. So the change ormajorcorrections of the regulation is not only timely but it has a chance to do that. The second part of the paper draws the potential directions of changes.
