Researcher at the Institute of Public Finance Simona Prijaković spent a year at the Department of Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Slovenia from May 15, 2024 until May 14, 2025. During her research visit, she focused on enhancing her expertise in the area of local government budgets, with a particular emphasis on the economic and political determinants that influence the budget credibility of local government units in Croatia and Slovenia.

During her stay, Prijaković worked closely with her mentor, Prof. Dr. Tanja Markovič Hribernik, and several colleagues, especially Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vita Jagrič. Together, they collected and analysed data on local budgets in Croatia and Slovenia for the period from 2016 to 2023. Their collaboration resulted in several joint scientific publications – a review paper Economic and political determinants of Local Government Budget Credibility, accepted for publication in the journal Lex localis – Journal of Local Self-Government, as well as IPF Note “Budget credibility under scrutiny: comparative analysis of Croatian and Slovenian local units”, which includes a 2023 database for all 768 local units.

In addition to her research, Prijaković delivered lectures on May 7 and 13, 2025, as part of the Public Finance I and Public Finance II courses for undergraduate and graduate students at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor in which she focused on budget transparency and credibility in local government units. Prijaković emphasized that credible budget planning is crucial for maintaining public trust, ensuring responsible management of public funds, and delivering public services effectively, all of which support achieving development goals through the optimal use of available public resources. She also presented potential economic determinants of local budget credibility, including number of inhabitants, residents’ income, fiscal capacity, budget balance, and the unemployment rate, as well as potential political determinants such as the ideology of incumbent politician, the fragmentation index of local councils, the share of women in councils, incumbent women and incumbent re-election.

“As the most valuable experience of my research visit, I would highlight the opportunity to collaborate with leading experts at the Faculty, exchange knowledge and ideas, and acquire new research skills. Working in an international and diverse academic environment further enriched my professional experience and provided me with a new perspective on scientific work,” concluded Prijaković.

This research visit was funded by the Croatian Science Foundation under the mobility program for outgoing senior assistants, as part of the project “Budget credibility in local government units” (MOBODL-2023-12-3604).