This report addresses the limited accessto local governments of data and knowledge of municipalfinance issues in South East Europe (SEE). The objective ofthe analytical work under the SEE Municipal Finance Review(MFR) aims to (i) contribute to improved understanding oflocal government management and finance in the SEE Region;and (ii) contribute to improving the quality and consistencyof key municipal finance data for improved evidence basedpolicy making. The analysis presented in this reportcomprises the first attempt to review and analyze a regionalset of disaggregated sub-national finance data in the SEERegion. Main findings of the MFR are presented in thisreport. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2provides an overview of the decentralization framework inthe SEE Region, including on the administrative andpolitical structure of sub-national governments, theirpopulation size and distribution, and the service functionsassigned to local governments. Chapter 3 explains in moredetail the local government finance framework. This includesan overview of the structure and composition of sub-nationalfinances, in particular (i) revenue and expenditureassignments; (ii) transfers and intergovernmental fiscalrelations; and (iii) the evolving framework and realities ofsub-national borrowing and debt. Chapter 4 provides asummary of the key trends and findings from thecross-country, regional analysis, complemented by detailedanalysis of the disaggregated datasets, where available.Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes conclusions and provides somerecommendations for a possible way forward. In the medium tolong term, access to municipal finance information wouldcontribute to increasing transparency and accountability oflocal governments, improving revenue collection andexpenditure performance, optimizing budget allocationprocedures, and strengthen local authorities' role andposition in intergovernmental fiscal considerations andnegotiations in the SEE countries.
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