Abstract

FERNANDEZ LLERA, Roberto. Institutional Mitosis as an Internal Decentralization Phenomenon in the Public Sector. Gest. polít. pública [online]. 2014, vol.23, n.1, pp.185-218. ISSN 1405-1079.

Spain is a remarkably complex country, due to the double decentralization. The first one is the decentralization from the central government to the autonomous communities. The second one is due to the division or institutional mitosis, that is, the deployment of numerous special purpose entities, with different functions, large staffing and increasing budgets. In this paper we analyze this latter phenomenon and the implications for public management and ex post auditing. Given its special interest, the paper focuses in the autonomous communities. It discusses the major theoretical and practical justifications and presents a detailed statistical panorama. The figures show a significant growth in instrumental public sector in Spain, as well as debt accumulation outside the scope of consolidation. In light of these results, some challenges to the audit institutions are suggested, with special attention to the monitoring of public debt.

Keywords : regional governments; public enterprises; public debt; audit offices; Spain.