Experts Address Local Finance Challenges in Ibero-American Countries

Authorities, experts and scholars from numerous Ibero-American countries met on September 1-2 at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile, to discuss the challenges of public provision of goods and services and its financing at different levels of government in the region, and its impact on economic development, equality, and social and territorial cohesion.

During the IV Ibero-American Conference on Local Finance 14 research papers were presented—out of more than 50 submitted initially—regarding issues of fiscal and financial ties among levels of government and subnational financing, as well as local spending, territorial equity, reforms to the system of intergovernmental relations in Latin America and Spain, the provision of local public goods and services and its financing in Ibero-American cities.

The IV Conference builds upon similar previous gatherings held in Toledo (Spain) in 2011, in La Plata (Argentina) in 2013, and in São Paulo (Brazil) in 2014.

The meeting—organized by ECLAC, the University of Chile and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)—was inaugurated by Antonio Prado, ECLAC’s Deputy Executive Secretary; Leonardo Letelier, Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Chile; and Koldo Echebarría, the IDB’s representative in Chile.

In his welcome remarks, Antonio Prado emphasized the opportunities that decentralization offers countries but noted that these processes face a series of obstacles due to acute distribution inequality in Latin American nations, the high degree of urbanization, territorial disparities, and limits on public policy related to low levels of tax pressure.

Leonardo Letelier thanked all of the people who sent their papers to the conference, which hit a record number of studies received. He explained that the papers detail the results of diverse countries’ experiences regarding the topics under analysis.

Koldo Echebarría highlighted the importance of these results because they provide valuable lessons that the IDB uses when implementing its projects with countries. In addition, he underscored the importance of identifying solutions to establish new systems for local finance, above all in the current context of decelerating economic activity levels and the fall in commodities prices.