Public Finance and Management

Many countries have increased their commitments to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Budgeting Reference Framework (GBRF) by improving their green budgeting. Based on a review of budgetary documents across the 27 EU Member countries, this study utilizes the methodology of coding countries’ green budgeting regulations and environmental practices based on the GBRF. This study found similarities in the practices pursued in EU countries: (a) the country’s political conditions strongly influence the green budgeting process in all countries, (b) all countries have made significant progress in green budgeting since 2000, (c) the green rating system requires an abundance of data and detailed information that cannot be generated within the “traditional” institutional budget structure. We found that the main challenges for applying green budgeting include a lack of a modern performance budgeting framework, a methodology for assessing environmental impacts, and relevant expertise.

Fiscal deficit financing has remained a major monetary policy concern for Ghana for a couple of years, which caused macroeconomic instability including high inflation episodes in the history of Ghana’s economy as far back as 1980. This article critically examined the shock effects of fiscal deficit financing-inflation dynamics transmission mechanism in Ghana for 1980 to 2018 period. The theoretical framework adopted for this study is based on the fiscal theory of the price level. The methodology employed for this article was the structural vector autoregression. The study found that monetary expansion contributed 26.0% to inflation variability, whereas monetization contributed 24.0%. Similarly, the article suggested that external financing contributed 6.1% to inflation, whereas domestic financing of government fiscal budget posed a significant inflation risk. The article recommended that prudent fiscal policies should be implemented by authorities in order to ensure debt sustainability and price stability as well.

This article examines how fiscal stress shaped decision-making processes in the City of East Cleveland, Ohio, one of the most persistently distressed municipalities in the United States. Drawing on theories of bounded rationality, institutional failure, and austerity urbanism, it explores why decades of oversight and recovery planning have failed to restore fiscal stability. Using qualitative analysis of audit reports, public records, and media coverage, the study reveals how limited administrative capacity, political instability, and corruption constrain local governments’ ability to implement recovery plans, even under state supervision. East Cleveland’s experience challenges staged models of municipal recovery that assume a gradual transition from austerity to pragmatic municipalism. Instead, it illustrates how small, structurally disadvantaged cities can become trapped in perpetual fiscal emergency, where procedural oversight substitutes for effective governance. After decades in fiscal emergency, East Cleveland remained without consolidation or receivership until recent state action in 2025. The case contributes to the literature on emergency financial management and institutional theory by demonstrating that the most instructive lessons may come not from best practices, but from persistent failures. It highlights what not to do when navigating fiscal stress.

This research presents theoretical–analytical research focused on the issue of municipal financial health in Slovakia. Using a literature review, we identify indicators of municipal financial health across various applied methodologies. On a sample of eight regional urban centers, the paper analyzes and compares two well-established methodologies in Slovakia for assessing financial health – the methodology of the non-governmental organization INEKO, which regularly assesses and publishes the results of financial health assessments for all municipalities in Slovakia, and the methodology published by Tkáčová and Konečný, compiled based on expert studies. The resulting financial health indicator for the monitored municipalities, using both methodologies, is based exclusively on financial sub-indicators specific to each methodology. Differences in evaluation results obtained using different methodologies suggest a need for adjustments to the methodology for monitoring municipal financial health, including the incorporation of non-financial indicators such as sociodemographic and managerial aspects of municipal finances.

This study examines the social and economic impacts of digital and “smart” settlement development in Hungary, focusing on the implementation of the European Union’s digital strategies within the framework of national programs such as the Digital Wellbeing Program and the Digital Settlement Program By analyzing four Hungarian case studies—Nagypáli, Ceglédbercel, Tamási, and the Northern Hegyháti Micro-Regional Union—the paper explores how digital technologies contribute to social cohesion, innovation capacity, and regional competitiveness. The findings indicate that the successful application of digitalization depends largely on community participation, municipal capacity, and institutional stability. Financial analysis reveals that while digitalization initially increases local expenditures, it enhances long-term fiscal efficiency through cost reduction and improved service delivery. The study concludes that the sustainability of Hungary’s digital settlement initiatives lies in the integration of technological modernization, social innovation, and regional cooperation, fostering both social renewal and fiscal resilience but with certain specificities which are connected to the nature of Hungary-EU relations.

This paper examines whether municipal bond call decisions are influenced by electoral cycles. Using 562,204 bond-month observations from 513 U.S. cities from 2005 to 2021, matched with mayoral election data, I find that bond call probability declines significantly during election months. Contrary to expectations, the effect is concentrated in open-seat elections where the incumbent is not seeking re-election, rather than in incumbent re-election races. Call probability decreases by 1.2 to 2.7% points during open-seat election months—a 20% to 45 reduction relative to the baseline call rate—while incumbent re-election months show no significant change. These results are robust to the inclusion of city fixed effects, city-by-year fixed effects, and year-month fixed effects. The findings suggest that transition uncertainty or lame-duck dynamics, rather than incumbent strategic behavior, drive election-related disruptions in municipal debt management.