The Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB) has just published IEB Report 2/2025, coordinated by researchers Marta Espasa-Queralt and Alejandro Esteller-Moré. The document addresses the issue of singular financing for a particular territory, drawing on existing examples and emphasizing the debate on the Catalan model.

Specifically, this report analyses the asymmetric decentralization experiences of Quebec, Scotland, and the Community of Navarre. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the proposed singular financing model for Catalonia is presented as an additional example of this type of financing.

Marcelin Joanis, professor of economics at the University of Montreal, presents the case of Quebec as an illustrative example of how a federation can integrate elements of flexibility and singularity without compromising its cohesion. A second paper, by Graeme Roy, professor at the University of Glasgow, analyses the process of fiscal decentralization in Scotland over the last 25 years, which has been marked by a profound transformation. And finally, within Spain, Navarre’s economic agreement is assessed by Professor Pedro Pascual Arzoz of the Public University of Navarre.

The IEB Report 2/2025 also includes an article by Professor Maite Vilalta of the University of Barcelona, ​​in which she outlines the unique financing model proposed for Catalonia. This is structured around three key elements: the comprehensive management of all taxes paid in Catalonia through the Catalan Tax Agency; the transfer of a proportion of these taxes to the central government to cover the services it provides in Catalonia; and the contribution of the Generalitat (the Catalan government) to solidarity with the other autonomous communities, respecting the principle of ordinality. In addition, the new model allows a substantial increase in the Generalitst’s taxation capacity, in coordination with the Spanish government and the European Union