GOLD Report I - UCLG

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237Decentralization has attracted the mostcritical attention in the United Stateswhere both local government powers andlocal geo-political fragmentation haveremained extensive. Patterns of localgovernance there have been found toexacerbate inequalities among de factosegregated groups by means of inequalitiesin local services (Joassert-Marcelli,Musso and Wolch 2001; Blakely 2000). Inparticular, inequalities in educationalopportunities in the United States havegenerated widespread debate and manyreform initiatives.The wider effects of regional integrationbetween North American countries for localgovernance are difficult to discern, andless pronounced than the consequences ofcross-border integration across Europe.The most notable impact has occurred inthe cross-border regions of Cascadia in thePacific Northwest mainly between the provincialand state governments (e.g., Blatter2001).III. Functions, Managementand FinanceIII.1. FinanceIn terms of its place in public expenditures,public finance and functions, localgovernment in Canada and the U.S.,occupies an average place within thespectrum of developed countries. In theTable 2Financial managementAustralia Canada New Zealand United StatesTotal Public Expenditure (% of GDP) 37% 42% 42% 35%(per capita) (Euros) € 11,486.56 € 13,717.90 € 9,692.57 € 14,507.04Local Public Expenditure (% of GDP) 2.4% 7.5% 3.9% 9.6%(per capita) (Euros) € 275.68 € 1,031.16 € 380.50 € 1,386.30Local/Total Public Expenditure (%) 6.6% 17.8% 9.4% 27.4%Local/Total Public Investment (%) 6% NA 16% 8%Local Revenues:Local taxes (% of local revenues) 38% 41% 58% 38%Property tax (% of local taxes) 100% 92% 91% 72%Local tax autonomy (0 (high) - 2(low)) 0.34 0.12 0.43 0.82Grants (% of local revenues) 16% 40% 10% 39%Sources: (Public expenditure) OECD in Figures 2005; (Local expenditure) IMF Government Finance Statistics (Australia, Canada, US: 2001, NewZealand: 2003); (Local Revenues, Taxes and Grants) IMF Government Finance Statistics (Australia, Canada: 2001; US: 2000; NewZealand: 2003): (Local tax autonomy, Supervision of borrowing) Sellers and Lidström 2007, Table 4; (public investment) U.S. Bureau of theCensus, 2005 Statistical Abstract of U.S. Section 9; Compendium of Government Finances: 2002 Table 1; (Australia and New Zealand)Brilliantes et al. 2007, Table 4.
NORTH AMERICA238United Cities and Local GovernmentsUnited States, the role of local governmenthas generally been more pronounced, but inCanada that role still exceeds local governmentpowers in other countries with similarBritish colonial legacies, including Australiaand New Zealand. The relative discretionthat North American local governmentsexercise over their own finances, and themodest supervision by higher governmentofficials also set local government in bothcountries apart from most of their counterpartsworldwide, including in Europe andEast Asia.In both countries local governments have in recent yearsfound themselves less reliant on grants from higher levelgovernments for local revenuesExpenditures. Overall, the proportion ofGross Domestic Product (GDP) devoted togovernmental expenditure in Canada andthe U.S., remains somewhat lower than theaverage for the OECD (Table 2). The localgovernment portion of this expenditure,though it varies considerably, also remainsbelow levels reported for Northern Europe.In Canada and the United States, 18% and27%, respectively, of public expenditurewas distributed to local governments. Thebulk of these distributions is spent on education.Education consumes 57% of all localexpenditure in the United States, and 40%in Canada. Security services such as policeand fire represent about eight percent oflocal expenditures in the United States, ninepercent in Canada. In both countries, localpublic expenditures as a percentage of thetotal public expenditure have also creptupward slightly in recent years.Revenues. Locally raised revenue pays formost educational and security expenditures.As in other former British colonies,such as Australia and New Zealand, theproperty tax remains by far the mostimportant source of local governmentrevenue. In Canada, it has generated 80%to 90% of all local tax revenues. In theUnited States, partly in the wake of taxpayerresistance in some states, other localtaxes, such as sales taxes, income taxes anduser fees grew from 22% of local tax revenuesin 1975 to 28% in 1999. Even so, theproperty tax has continued to supply 72% oflocal tax revenues (OECD 2001).A distinguishing feature of the propertytaxes, as well as most other local taxesin these countries is the comparativelylarge degree of discretion local authoritiespossess in setting rates and inassessing property. Ratings of local taxautonomy consistently show this discretionto be high compared with that seen inother countries. In the United States, thelaws of some individual states restrict localinitiatives to raise taxes or change assessmentsby requiring prior approval by localvoters. In Canada, setting these rates isalmost always left to the discretion of localgovernment but subject to control by theprovinces.In both countries local governments havein recent years found themselves lessreliant on grants from higher level governmentsfor local revenues. In the UnitedStates and Canada, state or provincialgrants for education and other servicesremain considerable but modest by comparisonwith many other OECD countries.The current 39 percent of total revenues inthe U.S. represents a decline from levels ofup to 45 percent in the late 1970s, but hasfluctuated over the 1990s and early 2000s.The current 40 percent in Canada representsa decline from levels as high as 50percent in the late 1970s, down 2 or 3%from levels in the 1980s (OECD 2001).Revenues in relation to tasks. Despitedwindling access to funds from above, aswell as local opposition to tax increases,local governments in Canada and the UnitedStates have assumed more responsibilities.Additional areas of responsibility thatare increasingly being delegated to localgovernments include: environmental regulation,planning, transportation, publichealth, immigration, education, emergency
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Decentralizationand local democracy
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UCLG wishes to acknowledge the Supp
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© 2008 United Cities and Local Gov
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FOREWORD8 United Cities and Local G
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PREFACE10 United Cities and Local G
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EDITORIAL PROJECT12 United Cities a
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS14 United Cities and
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS16 United Cities and
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INTRODUCTION18 United Cities and Lo
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INTRODUCTION20 United Cities and Lo
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AFRI C AMUSTAPHA BEN LETAIEFCHARLES
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23I. IntroductionAfrica encompasses
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25CCountry Political Type of state
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27and local governments are defined
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29torical context from which they e
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31aid. In some cases, central gover
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33suffrage. Metropolitan councillor
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35Table 3 Responsibilities of local
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37taxation. VAT has been establishe
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39disbursements to local government
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41Table 4 Human resource situationC
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43Table 5 Portrait of local democra
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45view and approve executive bodies
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47V. ConclusionThis overall picture
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ASIA-PACIFIC50 United Cities and Lo
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ASIA-PACIFIC52United Cities and Loc
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EURASIAT. Y. K HABRIE VA(C HIEF RES
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95I. IntroductionThis chapter analy
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97Table 1General Information and Te
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99The constitutions of several stat
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101vote. Rather, control of local m
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103Capitals and Metropolitan AreasT
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105losing their local, own sources
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107Table 3Local Finance Indicators
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109Education. In the majority of st
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111Table 4Functions of Local Govern
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113execution of their duties munici
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115State Formation of local Local e
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117State Formation of local Local e
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119On the whole, local elections in
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121neighborhood, part of a resident
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123corporate) persons may be resolv
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125fragile, in part due to complica
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EUROPE128 United Cities and Local G
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EUROPE130United Cities and Local Go
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EUROPE134 United Cities and Local G
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L ATIN AMERICAMARI O ROS ALESSALVAD
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167I. IntroductionLatin America is
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169Nevertheless, the depth of the r
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171America (see graph 1). The feder
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173initially appointed by the natio
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175nicipal (Municipal Budget Regime
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177and generate significant demogra
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179Table 3Evolution and Distributio
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181where it is the responsibility o
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183BoxTransfer Systems in Latin Ame
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185tection was organized for the un
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Page 202 and 203: 197about renewal of leadership and
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Page 238 and 239: 233I. IntroductionThis chapter comp
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CONCLUSION288 United Cities and Loc
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POSTFACE304 United Cities and Local
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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317AfricaBanque Mondiale, 2003, Ré
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319International Monetary Fund, 200
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321EurasiaAdministrativnaya reforma
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323Regulirovanie voprosov organizac
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325Guérin-Lavignotte, E., Kerrouch
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327--- Descentralización, transfer
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329Middle East and West AsiaUnited
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331North AmericaSaudi Ministry of R
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333Laubach, T., 2005, Fiscal Relati
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335Metropolitan GovernanceU.S. Bure
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337Kübler, D., 2005, Problems and
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339ConclusionAalborg C., 1994, Char
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341Rothblatt, D. N. and Sancton A.
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GOLD Report I - UCLG

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