The structuring conditions of local government financialisation in Europe: A comparative perspective
研究了2000-2019年22个欧洲国家数据，发现财政分权、金融发展程度和紧缩政策强度与地方政府金融化水平正相关，而南欧和东欧边缘地区金融化程度较低。
Local governments across Europe are increasingly engaging in ‘local government financialisation’, involving the use of bonds, derivatives and financial assets in their governance. However, the extent to which local governments use financial instruments varies across countries. Moreover, local governments engage in financialisation in the context of ‘structuring conditions’ that are largely beyond their control. This paper systematically investigates these political-economic conditions and provides a high-level comparative analysis of their relevance for financialisation in local governments. The study examines data from 22 European countries between 2000 and 2019, finding that economic, financial and institutional conditions, along with financial subordination, are critical in shaping local government financialisation. Specifically, greater decentralisation, a more developed financial sector, and, to some extent, more intense austerity are associated with higher levels of financialisation. In contrast, financialisation tends to be lower in the Southern and Eastern European peripheries. Through its country-comparative approach, the paper contributes a new perspective to recent debates on the role of the local state in financialisation.