The relationships between government levels, the re-allocation of responsibilities, and their funding have been cornerstone topics for the economic, political and institutional development of most Ibero-American countries. In the last decades, Latin America and Spain have registered an intense and generalized process of decentralization of functions across different levels of government. The way in which the provision of public goods and services is funded, and their eventual distribution across different levels of government, are crucial issues when it comes to achieving a healthy and stable intergovernmental system, and a sustainable decentralization process.

These stylized facts, which exhibit particular characteristics across regions and countries, make it especially important to analyze and evaluate the process. In order to analyze the issue, a group of academics and specialists in intergovernmental fiscal policy and local finances working at different universities, research centers, and international organizations have organized, since 2011, the IBERO-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON LOCAL FINANCING. The X Conference will be held from August 30 to September 2, following up on the meetings held in , Spain (Toledo, 2011), Argentina (La Plata, 2013), Brazil (São Paulo, 2014), Chile (Santiago de Chile, 2015), Spain (Santiago de Compostela, 2016), Argentina (Villa Carlos Paz, 2017), Colombia (Cartagena de Indias, 2018), Mexico (Mexico City, 2019), and Peru (Lima, virtual, 2020).

Throughout the different editions of the Conference, 122 papers have been presented, covering a wide range of topics and geographies. In addition, the event has revealed the growing importance of intergovernmental fiscal relations and local finances in the Ibero-American public agenda.