Figures Tables Contributors Acknowledgement Introduction: Giancarlo Pola and David King 1. Decentralisation and political rents Gianluigi Galeotti 2. The political economy of tax and expenditure decentralisation Erich Thöni 3. Current issues in the theory of fiscal federalism David King 4. Local finance in Spain Antoni Castells and Joaquim Sole-Vilanova 5. Financing local government Jeffrey Owens 6. How far is the poll tax a ‘community charge’? Glen Bramley, Gordon Hamilton, Julian Le Grand, William Low 7. Reform of local taxation in Germany Horst Zimmermann 8. Property taxation in France Remy Prud’homme and Francoise Navarre 9. Revealed preferences for local public goods Stefano Piperno and Walter Santagata 10. Business collective action and the role of local government in economic development Robert J. Bennett and John Sellgren Index