Place Equality Regimes and Municipal Choices in Metropolitan Spain: Regional Institutions and Local Political Orientations

Abstract

Spain constitutes a partial-equalization place equality regime with regional differences in a highly fragmented local government system. This chapter shows that the regime produces mixed results regarding equalization between municipalities, mainly through current transfers. First, size and socioeconomic conditions of municipalities open opportunities for ‘Tieboutian’ strategies, leading to less revenues and spending in the smallest and poorest metropolitan municipalities. Second, intergovernmental support moderates this relationship and generates opportunities for local choices. It increases expenditures among the poorest and left-wing municipalities where ‘egalitarian’ and ‘progressive’ municipal coalitions developed. However, clear differences exist between regional regimes. Intergovernmental support is high in the so-called ‘special regime’ where the region controls tax income, but the effect of intergovernmental support on spending is stronger among metropolitan municipalities in the common regime, where the central government controls tax income.