In this paper we study the effectiveness of environmental taxes and policies of the regional level of government to reduce GHG emissions. We use panel data for the 17 Spanish regions in the period 1999–2017, controlling the spatial nexus between regions and using a dynamic Durbin model. The results show there is spatial dependence and spatio-temporal persistence of GHG emissions at the regional level in Spain, and that in this context, the taxes and policies intended to manage emissions introduce a slight disincentive to generating them. This fact, together with some relative decoupling which seems to exist between growth and emissions at the regional level, would suggest the need for tougher measures to combat environmental pollution in order to meet EU commitments.

This work examines in depth the hypotheses explaining the tax capacity of regional governments, also determining their tax effort and explanatory factors. The study is done for the Spanish regions, using different techniques which have rarely been applied in this area. The results show that these jurisdictions have exercised their tax autonomy responsibly, in response to different budget and demographic factors and to the economic cycle. Also, an asymmetrical tax behaviour linked to income is observed: some regions have practically exhausted the possibilities of current sub-central taxes, while others still have ample fiscal space.

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Based on a model of behavioural response to taxes, and using the Taxpayers Panel from the Instituto de Estudios Fiscales for the period 1999–2009, we analyse whether the dual nature of the Spanish personal income tax (PIT), reinforced by the 2007 reform, has influenced taxpayers’ behaviour, causing them to convert part of their ‘general income’ (from labour, real estate or economic activities) into ‘savings income’ (from movable capital or capital gains). We also extend the analysis of income shifting and study whether Spanish taxpayers also responded to the different tax treatments given to the two types of savings income (from movable capital and capital gains) until 2007, transforming savings income from one type to the other. The results of our study demonstrate three facts. First, Spanish taxpayers did respond to the different tax rates, shifting income from the general base to different forms of savings, especially capital gains. The highest‐income individuals and the self‐employed and business owners are the groups where this behaviour was most marked. Second, the self‐employed and business owners also turned income from movable assets into capital gains, guided by their different tax rates. And third, we find signs of ‘anticipation’ and ‘learning’ effects caused by the 2007 tax reform. We believe that the results obtained will enrich the growing literature on income shifting.

This paper analyses, in the context of the Environmental Kuznet Curve, the determinants of export intensity of hazardous industrial waste among Spanish regions, with particular attention to the influence of waste taxes and of environmental policies. This study is carried out for the first time in the literature with a spatial dynamic model, fixed effects and panel data for the 17 regions (Comunidades Autónomas) of Spain during the period 2007–2017. The results suggest there is a spatial-dynamic component to export intensity, and that both regional taxes on waste disposal and environmental policy stringency appear to encourage, albeit modestly, the rate of exported waste to other regions. The model also shows that the more regions recycle, and the greater the economies of scale arising from industrial agglomeration, the lower is the region’s waste export intensity, although increasing restrictions on the international trade in hazardous waste have intensified trading inside the country. Finally, the results suggest a non-linear relationship between growth and export intensity, although apparently we are still far from the absolute decoupling of the Environmental Kuznet Curve.

In recent decades there has been a resurgence of interest in the study of regulatory activity, focused especially on the importance of regulation in order for markets to function correctly, but also on the detrimental effects of excessive or badly designed regulations for economic growth. (1) As Mashaw and Rose-Ackerman (1983) and Hahn et al (2004) maintain, this interest is greater in federal and decentralised countries, in which there are more governments with legislative powers (ie central, regional, and local governments). (2) Regulation, however, is difficult to evaluate; it is one of several public sector activities which are complicated to quantify, since they lack direct budgetary repercussion and do not generally produce short-term financial responses. As a result, public economics has traditionally paid less attention to regulation than to the financial instruments of public intervention. Spain today is a highly decentralised country. The Autonomous Communities (Spanish regional governments) manage almost 40% of total public expenditure and provide a set of services which directly affect their citizens' welfare (eg health, education, housing, social services, infrastructure). The public employees in the service of the Autonomous Communities represent over 50% of all civil servants. Own revenues, raised by the so-called`common system' Communities, account for over 50% of the total of their nonfinancial revenues, and this percentage is nearly 100% for the`foral system' Communities (Navarre and the Basque Country). (3)

A certain rough consensus holds that highland municipalities have higher spending needs than others, because of the particularly adverse conditions in which they provide essential public services. However, there is no empirical evidence to support this assertion. This study examines whether any relevant differences actually exist in the spending policies of highland and lowland municipalities. To this end, we make logarithmic estimations of per capita municipal spending in order to determine whether the indicators selected, which are based on local government powers, adequately reflect spending needs. Our results point to the special circumstances of highland districts as a key explanatory factor for higher municipal spending, along with demographic factors, locational population patterns, economic activity, subsidies, and local fiscal capacity.