The 3rd International Conference on Decentralization after the Great Recession: Fine-tuning or Paradigm Change? was held in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (Spain), on October 26–27, 2017. Directed by Ignacio Lago (Universitat Pompeu Fabra and GEN), Santiago Lago-Peñas (GEN–University of Vigo), and Jorge Martínez-Vázquez (Georgia State University and GEN), the conference brought together leading international scholars to reflect on how the global financial crisis reshaped debates on decentralization. Over two days, participants examined issues such as fiscal stability, governance, electoral dynamics, inequality, and regional development, while questioning whether post-crisis adjustments represented incremental changes or a deeper shift in paradigm. The event provided a platform for rigorous academic exchange on one of the defining challenges of contemporary public finance and governance