Fiscal Policy Surveillance in Europe

The Stability and Growth Pact provides for the systematic surveillance of the fiscal policies of 25 EU member states. On this basis, this book provides an overview of themes in current fiscal policy, including the impact of ageing populations on fiscal sustainability, fiscal policy over the cycle, fiscal decentralization and expenditure reforms.

Autorentext
MASSIMO BORDIGNON Professor of Economics, Catholic University of Milan, Italy HANA POLACKOVA BRIXI World Bank, China MARCO BUTI Director, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, the European Commission, Belgium LARS JONUNG Economic Advisor, the European Commission, Belgium FILIP KEEREMAN Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, the European Commission, Belgium VINCENT KOEN Principal Economist, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), France JACQUES MÉLITZ Professor of Economics, University of Strathclyde, UK RUUD DE MOOIJ CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis and Professor of Economics, Erasmus University, The Netherlands JONATHAN RODDEN Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA LUDGER SCHUKNECHT Head, Fiscal Surveillance Section, European Central Bank, Germany PAUL TANG CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, The Netherlands VITO TANZI Economic Advisor, Inter-American Development Bank, USA TERESA TER-MINASSIAN Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF), USA PAUL JOSEPH VAN DEN NOORD Economics Department, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), France MAXWELL WATSON Economic Advisor, the European Commission, Belgium ERIK WIBBELS Associate Professor, University of Washington, USA CHARLES WYPLOSZ Professor of Economics, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Switzerland

Inhalt
List of Tables List of Figures Foreword Acknowledgments List of Contributors Introduction; P.Wierts, S.Deroose, E.Flores & A.Turrini PART 1: MEASUREMENT ISSUES IN BUDGETARY SURVEILLANCE Large and Unknown Implicit Liabilities: Policy Implications for the Eurozone; C.Wyplosz Fiscal Gimmickry in Europe: One-off Measures and Creative Accounting; V.Koen & P.J.van den Noord Non-discretionary and Automatic Fiscal Policy in the EU and the OECD; J.Mélitz Comment Part I; M.Buti PART II: FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION: ACHIEVING HARD BUDGET CONSTRAINTS Fiscal Decentralization: How to Harden the Budget Constraint; M.Bordignon Achieving Fiscal Discipline in Federations: Germany and the EMU; J.Rodden Business Cycles and the Political Economy of Decentralized Finance: Lessons for Fiscal Federalism in the EU; E.Wibbels & J.Rodden Comment Part II; T.Ter-Minassian PART III: ENLARGEMENT: FISCAL SURVEILLANCE ON THE ROAD TO EMU Financial Stability During Convergence: What can Fiscal Policy Contribute? M.Watson Contingent Liabilities in New Member States; H.P.Brixi Comment Part III; F.Keereman PART IV: PUBLIC FINANCES, EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY: WHAT ARE THE TRADE-OFFS? Reforming Public Expenditure in Industrialised Countries: Are There Trade-Offs? L.Schuknecht & V.Tanzi Reforming the Public Sector in Europe: Reconciling Equity and Efficiency; R.de Mooij & P.Tang Comment Part IV; L.Jonung Notes Bibliography