New article by Guillem López i Casasnovas in El Nacional, entitled: “Adjusted Population” in Regional Financing.

Available online: https://www.elnacional.cat/oneconomia/ca/opinio/poblacio-ajustada-en-financament-autonomic-guillem-lopez-casasnovas_1647352_102.html

The article argues that the concept of “adjusted population,” used to allocate resources within Spain’s regional financing system, is seemingly technical but deeply political, since the variables and weightings incorporated into the formula can significantly affect the final distribution among autonomous communities.

It criticizes the frequent presentation of this indicator as an objective formula when, in reality, it conceals discretionary decisions regarding which needs are considered priorities (population age structure, territorial dispersion, insularity, etc.). The author argues that the debate on regional financing should not be limited to adjusting these criteria, but should instead address more fundamental issues such as each region’s fiscal capacity, tax co-responsibility, the principle of ordinality, and the redistributive role of the State. In short, he warns that focusing the entire negotiation on adjusted population risks turning a political decision into a misleading technical discussion and perpetuating the territorial tensions inherent in the current system.