Aims
Fiscal federalism has been one of the IEB’s main lines of research from the start. Historically, it has stood out for bringing together a group of prominent researchers in the field of sub-national government finances both in Spain and internationally. The IEB is now leveraging this experience to strengthen and support research in this area by creating an Observatory to channel it and help disseminate it to a broader audience.
The Observatory’s subject of study is fiscal federalism and, specifically, regional and local taxation in Spain, but also comparative systems analysis. Its proposed objective is twofold: first, to provide access to information on these fields (publications, databases, conferences, etc.); and second, to disseminate the material produced by the Observatory itself.
The Observatory will be funded from the same sources as other IEB research lines, as well as through potential funding it obtains from institutions interested in funding it specifically (the Catalan government, provincial councils, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), town councils, international institutions, etc.).
The Observatory is part of the structure of the IEB. It is headed by Professors Núria Bosch and Maite Vilalta.
The Observatory has an advisory board made up of national and international experts in fiscal federalism and sub-national financing.
Activities
The Observatory’s main activities include, among others:
- Organization of an annual seminar or conference on the subject.
- Development and dissemination of material.
- Development of a statistical databank.
- Providing access and links to publications on fiscal federalism from other institutions (e.g. the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies).
