Public Economics in the Context of Local Territorial Self-Government in Slovakia: A Study of Key Financial and Economic Aspects

This article explores the dynamics of public economy in Slovak local territorial selfgovernment from 2010 to 2022, addressing regional variations and high-performing units based on population size.This study aims to contribute to a broader discussion on regional economic disparities and the impact of population size on the public economy of these entities.Analyzing ten indicators across 100 units, including towns and municipalities, revealed significant regional disparities.The Bratislava and Košice self-governing regions exhibited superior economic outcomes.Units with populations exceeding 20,000 consistently performed better, with the 25,000 to 53,000 range achieving the highest average economic performance.While positive outliers existed in smaller towns, larger urban centers proved more effective in public economy management.The findings call for nuanced analyses to enrich discussions on the role and status of cities in Slovakia.