自治区的财政政策：宏观经济效应与国家财政规则的作用

The Fiscal Policy ofAutonomous Communities: Its Carlo Pizzinelli SIP/2026/054 IMF Selected Issues Papers are prepared by IMF staff asbackground documentation for periodic consultations withmember countries.It is based on the information available atthe time it was completed on May 4, 2026. This paper is also 2026JUN IMF Selected Issues Paper European Department Prepared by Carlo Pizzinelli Authorized for distribution by Romain Duval IMF Selected Issues Papersare prepared by IMF staff as background documentation for periodicconsultations with member countries.It is based on the information available at the time it was ABSTRACT:The transposition of the EU economic governance framework to national legislation provides anopportunity to reform the subnational fiscal rule, especially with regard to its regional component. Whilecompliance by autonomous communities has improved in the last decade, the current framework has notdelivered on two key objectives of subnational fiscal rules for regional governments: avoiding procyclical publicspending and ensuring debt sustainability. This paper makes the case for centering a revised fiscal rule on an RECOMMENDED CITATION:Pizzinelli, C. (2026) “The Fiscal Policy of Autonomous Communities: It’sMacroeconomic Effects and the Role of the National Fiscal Rule.” IMF Selected Issues Paper (SIP/2026/054). SELECTED ISSUES PAPERS The Fiscal Policy of AutonomousCommunities: Its Macroeconomic Spain Prepared by Carlo Pizzinelli THE FISCAL POLICY OF AUTONOMOUSCOMMUNITIES: ITS MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS AND The transposition of the EU economic governance framework to national legislation provides anopportunity to reform the subnational fiscal rule, especially with regard to its regional component.While compliance by autonomous communities has improved in the last decade, the currentframework has not delivered on two key objectives of subnational fiscal rules for regional governments:avoiding procyclical public spending and ensuring debt sustainability. This paper makes the case for A.Introduction 1.Autonomous communities are a crucial component of fiscal policy in Spain.In 2021Spain ranked third among OECD and EU economies for the size of public spending carried out byregional governments as a share of GDP—approximately 18 percent—and fifth as regards regions’share of total public sector expenditure—approximately 27 percent (OECD, 2024). This large 2.Regional public spending is supported by an institutional framework aiming tobalance risk-sharing, redistribution, autonomy, and fiscal responsibility.Under the “commonregime”, applied to 15 communities, regional governments receive resources from a selection oftaxes over which they have some ability to adjust rates, and have full autonomy over other taxes.Part of the revenues, together with additional transfers from the central government, are pooledinto a set of funds that redistribute resources across regions to mitigate disparities in financing percapita. Meanwhile, the two communities under the “foral regime” (Navarra and País Vasco) pay anegotiated contribution to the general government’s budget but retain the entirety of their tax targets for communities’ deficits, primary spending growth, and debt levels to safeguard fiscalsustainability and align regional budgets to the government’s overall fiscal strategy. 3.Autonomous communities have historically been large contributors to Spain’s fiscaldeficit and debt (Figure 1).Prior to the GFC, the consolidated regional government sectorregularly achieved a close-to-balanced budget, and its total debt remained stable at around 5percent of GDP. From 2008 to 2019, however, the primary (overall) balance of autonomouscommunities was mostly negative, with a peak deficit of 4.6 (5.1) percent of GDP in 2011. As a result,regional debt rose pronouncedly, edging close to 25 percent of GDP in 2016. Since then, theconsolidated deficits have decreased in size, with several individual communities reaching surpluses.With the exception of 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, regional debt has declined 4.Overhauling the subnational fiscal rule would be a crucial step to strengthen themedium-term orientation and credibility of fiscal policy in Spain.The subnational fiscal rule isunderpinned by the Organic Law on Budget Stability and Financial Sustainability 2/2012 (LOEPSF, forits Spanish name). The multiplicity of fiscal targets under the current subnational rule, as set outunder the LOEPSF, has historically led to inconsistencies in the fiscal position of different the new EU economic governance framework, which became operational in 2025, leading topotential conflicts in the fulfillment of both rules. The need to align the subnational framework tothe EU one therefore provides an opportunity to revise the former in order to better align it with 5.This paper provides new insights in support of a revised fiscal rule for autonomouscommunities centered on expenditure growth limits.