The Level of Fiscal Autonomy: Evidence from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

The role of local government units and the level of fiscal autonomy are the main drivers of local development activities in countries. The aim of this paper is to measure the level of fiscal autonomy of large cities that have been identified as conductors of local development activities in three Southeastern European (SEE) countries, namely Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as to compare the level of fiscal autonomy between large cities and other remaining local units in the respective countries. The results of the research measured by the index of fiscal autonomy and compared with the index of fiscal autonomy of all remaining local government units in each of these countries indicate limited fiscal autonomy. Th is research provides new scientific evidence and fills the gap regarding the level of fiscal autonomy of large cities to improve and increase their budget capacity.