Resumo

RAMIREZ CEDILLO, Eduardo. Federalism and public finance: The Mexican circumstances. Economía UNAM [online]. 2011, vol.8, n.22, pp.15-36. ISSN 1665-952X.

Currently, in Public Finance, one important issue is the discussion of how the powers to tax and spend should be distributed to the different levels of government in complex National States. What kind of expenditures should be assigned to the Federation, the states and the municipalities? What kind of charges and taxes should be collected by each level of government? These frequent questions can have many answers. This paper offers a theoretical basis that supports arguments about fiscal federalism, the coincidences of the theory with the assignment of fiscal functions in some economies (OCDE), the analysis of Mexican federalism, the decentralization process, always considering the political divisions of México and some conclusions about the Mexican economy.