Descentralización, deuda pública y disciplina de mercado en Espa？a

the autonomous communities (ccaa from the spanish acronym) are the main agent of public expenditure in spain. borrowing is one of their basic revenues but is limited by a dual control: budgetary stability regulations and financial market discipline. the aim of this paper is to test the hypothesis of market discipline, using a dual descriptive and inferential approach. the results suggest that market discipline works effectively for the ccaa, but certain shortcomings persist. the interest burden increases with the volume of debt but at the same time is slightly reduced as a result of the savings banks (cajas de ahorro). the main risks for the future are the economic crisis and restructuring of the spanish financial system.