Description:
This report examines the fiscal
prospects of major units of sub-national government in the
voivodship (province) of Mazowieckie and proposes a series
of reforms in recurrent spending and capital investment
planning. Mazowieckie, the seat of Warsaw, is the heart of
the Polish economy. While Poland is weathering the current
global economic downturn fairly well, the sub-national
governments of Mazowieckie face considerable fiscal
uncertainties. A long period of rising revenues has come to
an end. At the same time, both the province and the City of
Warsaw are embarked upon major programs of capital
investment. While European Union (EU) funds could help
finance some of these investments, there is evidence that
the money from Brussels is not reaching the highest priority
projects. The objective of this report is to examine how the
major units of sub-national government can respond - how
they can restrain the growth of deficits and allocate funds
more wisely. The report is organized in four sections. The
first describes the regional, macroeconomic, and
institutional context of the sub-national governments. The
following three sections examine the fiscal situation of
Warsaw; the Voivodship, and three case study'cities.