Expansión del sector público empresarial en las autonomías y ayuntamientosevolución y análisis de las posibles causas

Abstract

One of the most remarkable facts in the recent evolution of the Spanish economy is the high growth of public firms created by regional governments and local administrations. This growth clearly contrasts with the reduction of the public sector size obtained during the same period by the central government through privatisations. This paper display data about the current number of public corporations showing this evolution and propose some reasons that could explain this development. Among the possible theoretical explanations is the ability to increase the indebtedness level of public administrations avoiding legal limitations and the development of functions by regional governments that traditionally were assumed by the old public group INI, as the absorption of private firms with losses or the creation of public groups for regional and local industrialization.