The dimensions of the financial condition in Spanish municipalities: An empirical analysis

Abstract

The current financial crisis highlights the relevance to have frameworks and analytical tools adapted to the financial specificities of the local public sector. The complex nature of the concept of financial condition has been studied from both the doctrinal and institutional perspective. The aim of this study was to analyze whether the multiple indicators of the financial realities of local entities in Spain reflect the dimensions of analysis of financial condition developed by the ICMA or the dimensions developed by the CICA. For the analysis, we used a large number of indicators and a large sample of Spanish municipalities. Our methodology combined statistical techniques of factorial analysis, canonical correlation, and cluster analysis. The results of the analysis in local governments in Spain showed a combination of the dimensions espoused by both theoretical frameworks. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.