Subject. The article discusses the system of local government in urban districts of the Russian Federation, its distinctions and development impediments. Objectives. The study determines whether it is reasonable to create internal municipal entities in cities of urban districts from perspectives of their fiscal and administrative self-sufficiency. Methods. I used general methods of research, such as comparison, analysis, synthesis, analogy and systems approach. Results. I analyzed financial and organizational conditions for urban districts and internal city districts in the Russian Federation before and after local government reforms. Nowadays, internal districts in cities are found to have ceased their financial and administrative independence, whether they have their own budget or not. Their operations do not improve the overall local government system. Therefore, I suggest setting the mechanism for the bottom-to-top authority assignment, rather than the top-to-bottom one. Thus, internal municipal entities will be allowed to determine powers, allocate funds, delegate them to urban district authorities. Local authorities will show better performance, since people will be directly involved in local decision-making processes and support their initiatives before municipal authorities. Conclusions and Relevance. The analysis and recommendations will help municipal entities of the Russian Federation make decisions concerning their intentions to become an urban district with internal districts within a city. The findings are useful to outline development lines for local government in Russia.
Keywords: municipal entity, city district, urban district, budget, local government
References:
Afanas'eva E.E. [Problems of income generation of the local budgets under conditions of the financial resource centralization]. Vestnik evraziiskoi nauki = Eurasian Scientific Journal, 2018, vol. 10, no. 3, p. 6. URL: Link (In Russ.)
Tutukov A.Yu., Gelyakhova L.A. [Some issues of intergovernmental relations at the municipal level]. Probely v rossiiskom zakonodatel'stve = Gaps in the Russian Legislation, 2016, no. 6, pp. 150–152. URL: Link (In Russ.)
Sumskaya T.V. Mestnoe samoupravlenie: evolyutsiya byudzhetnoi politiki [Local government: The evolution of fiscal policy]. Novosibirsk, IEIE SO RAN Publ., 2016, 212 p.
Rykov A.N. [The meaning of self-administration's existence]. Gosudarstvo i pravo = State and Law, 2017, no. 9, pp. 58–64. (In Russ.)
Swanstrom T. Reflections on Place Matters: Poverty, Politics, and Power in the Modern Metropolis. Urban Affairs Review, 2017, vol. 53, iss. 1, pp. 175–188. URL: Link
Jimenez B.S. Externalities in the Fragmented Metropolis: Local Institutional Choices and the Efficiency-Equity Trade-Off. The American Review of Public Administration, 2016, vol. 46, iss. 3, pp. 314–336. URL: Link
Li Y., Wu F., Hay I. City-Region Integration Policies and their Incongruous Outcomes: The Case of Shantou-Chaozhou-Jieyang City-Region in East Guangdong Province, China. Habitat International, 2015, vol. 46, pp. 214–222. URL: Link
Sakurai S.N., Accoroni Theodoro M.I. On the Relationship between Political Alignment and Government Transfers: Triple Differences Evidence from a Developing Country. Empirical Economics, 2020, vol. 58, pp. 1107–1141. URL: Link
Johansson E. Intergovernmental Grants as a Tactical Instrument: Empirical Evidence from Swedish Municipalities. Journal of Public Economics, 2003, vol. 87, iss. 5-6, pp. 883–915. URL: Link00148-7
Zul'karnai I.U. Byudzhetnye stimuly mestnykh organov vlasti (na primere Respubliki Bashkortostan): monografiya [Budgetary incentives of local authorities: Evidence from the Republic of Bashkortostan]. Ufa, BSU Publ., 2003, 118 p.
Zul'karnaev I.U. [Models of Interregional Government]. Regionologiya = Russian Journal of Regional Studies, 2003, no. 1-2, pp. 86–93. (In Russ.)
