Measuring and Comparing the Financial Autonomy of Local Governments in Finland and Poland

Local financial autonomy requires decentralisation and is, in essence, a reflection of the relationship between local governments and the central government. The aim of this paper is to discuss the concept of local financial autonomy, assuming the in-depth comparison of local financial autonomy in Finland and Poland as the main objective. To that end, the authors propose country-specific measurement tools for local financial autonomy (LFAI) in both countries. These tools are developed taking the financial autonomy dimension of Landner's LAI as a starting point. The results of the comparison indicate that local financial autonomy in Poland and Finland differ significantly, as reflected by the regulations that the central government sets in line with each society's perception of the role that local governments are meant to perform.