Following the conceptual framework developed by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, which is based on three broad dimensions of sustainability, flexibility and vulnerability, this paper proposes a method for evaluating the financial health of municipalities. This methodology could be useful for performance assessment in any country and framework. An aggregate indicator has been obtained for each municipality that covers all the aspects analyzed. For this, multivariate statistical techniques of principal component analysis and discriminant analysis are combined. The proposed method overcomes the problem that we detected in the literature related to the weighting of variables, optimizing the measurement of the variability of all indicators that are included in the financial condition. The indicator evaluates and ranks the degree of financial health of each municipality and serves as a tool to study how different factors might have an impact on its financial health. The performance of the indicator has been contrasted with the socioeconomic variables of population size and geographic location. The proposed method has been applied to 5,165 Spanish municipalities.

Diverse research has analysed the effects of gender in government on public budgetary outcomes using the gender bias approach – gender trait –; however, studies evaluating the gender effects of municipal governments on budgetary solvency using a gender balance approach – gender diversity – are scarce. Our objective was to determine whether gender diversity in Spanish municipal governments affects institutional budgetary solvency, taking into account that the mayor’s gender and the ideology of the government could impede visualizing the effects of diversity because they create heterogeneity. Using both static and dynamic panel data models on a sample of Spanish municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, we found that gender diversity has a positive effect on budgetary solvency when the municipality has a male mayor. However, the effect of gender diversity is negative if the mayor is a woman, which could be explained by the different arguments provided by social identity or social categorization theories. Diversas investigaciones han analizado los efectos del género en el gobierno sobre los resultados presupuestarios públicos utilizando el enfoque de sesgo de género – rasgo de género –; sin embargo, los estudios que evalúan los efectos del género de los gobiernos municipales sobre la solvencia presupuestaria usando un enfoque de equilibrio de género – diversidad de género – son escasos. Nuestro objetivo es conocer si la diversidad de género en los gobiernos municipales españoles afecta a la solvencia presupuestaria institucional, teniendo en cuenta que el género del alcalde y la ideología del gobierno podrían impedir visualizar los efectos de la diversidad, porque generan heterogeneidad. Utilizando tanto un modelo estático como uno dinámico de datos de panel en una muestra de municipios españoles de más de 20.000 habitantes, nuestro principal hallazgo es que la diversidad de género tiene un efecto positivo en la solvencia presupuestaria cuando el municipio tiene un alcalde. Sin embargo, el efecto de la diversidad de género tiene un impacto negativo si el gobierno municipal está encabezado por una alcaldesa, lo que podría encontrar su explicación en diferentes argumentos aportados por las teorías de la identidad social o de la categorización social.

This research analyzed the fiscal adjustment processes of an important segment of Spanish municipalities (Galicia), and verified procyclical fiscal policy adjustments. The severity of municipal fiscal deficits and their persistence led to a strategy of targeted cuts. Contradicting the literature, expenses in providing core services were most affected. These cuts were partially offset by increased resources from other public administrations. We have not been able to verify significant adjustments in administrative expenses, which could be explained by the hypothesis of the budgetary maximization of the bureaucrats.