Fiscal Policy Councils abroad

Fiscal councils abroad

The interest in fiscal councils has been steadily increasing over the past years and independent fiscal institutions are currently being established within the euro area, in line with the new regulation of the reformed Stability and Growth Pact (SGP).

Professor Simon Wren-Lewis has compiled a list of fiscal institutions in different countries and a list of academic papers on fiscal institutions.

On fiscal councils

The OECD principles for independent fiscal institutions can be found here:

Principles for independent fiscal institutions

The IMF overview of fiscal rules in different countries can be downloaded here:

Fiscal Rules Dataset

The following OECD paper discusses how fiscal councils can affect fiscal performance:

How can fiscal councils strengthen fiscal performance?

The following article by Lars Calmfors, George Kopits and Coen Teulings, the former Chairman of the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council, the former Chairman of the Hungarian Fiscal Council and the former Head of the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis respectively, discusses the importance of independent fiscal institutions:

A new breed of fiscal watchdogs

INFLUENCE OF HUNGARY'S FISCAL COUNCIL RESTRICTED

The Hungarian fiscal council was founded in 2009. After criticising the government in 2011 for overly optimistic forecasts and lack of transparency, the council's remit was restricted and its appropriation slashed. A description of the development can be found in the following box from Swedish Fiscal Policy 2013:

Hungary's Fiscal Policy Council