Local economic development – economic development at the level of local self-government units – municipalities. In Europe, the concept especially received in importance after 1985., when the Council of Europe adopted the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which greatly redefines the role of local authorities in the dynamization of local economic development. The essence is through fiscal decentralization to increase the economic competencies of local authorities and encourage initiatives and competition among municipalities, to ensure efficient mobilization of all established resources at the local level, increasing employment and the well-being of citizens. In the period 1991-1996, the local self-government in the Republic of Macedonia practically did not exist, the municipalities were almost completely dismissed by the economic (and not only from economic) competencies, including those belonging, according to the regulation in the previous system. During 1996 A new territorial division of the country was made (123 municipalities), but fiscal decentralization was missing. In the period until 2005 The share of the units of local self-government in public spending was extremely low (the funds intended for the municipalities moved between 1.8 to 2% of the total central budget expenditures). Since 2004 A new territorial division of the country (85 municipalities) followed the process of fiscal decentralization, which created the necessary assumptions to accelerate local economic development (c. fiscal decentralization). In doing so, the development of small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurship, as well as the establishment of the system for their support at the local level (Regional Centers for SMEs, business incubators, consulting services, etc.) and in the Republic of Macedonia, as it is, in fact, Case in European countries, they cost the basis for dynamic and sustainable local economic development. IDBC, Municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia (authors of the texts: V. Popovski, A. Selmani), Skopje. 2006. Lit.: K. Bogoev, challenges and implications of decentralization, “articles”, JJVV, 1-2, MANU, Skopje, 2004; T. Fiti, V. Hadzi Vasileva-Markovska, M. Bateman, Entrepreneurship, Skopje, 2007. T. F.
Original article in Macedonian language Cyrillic alphabet
Кириличен напис ЛОКАЛЕН ЕКОНОМСКИ РАЗВОЈ