The objective of this paper is to empirically analyse whether sound fiscal and macroeconomic policies are beneficial to the achievement of the socio-economic development objectives enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular whether sound policies have an...

Coordination arrangements should ensure that fiscal policy is conducted in a consistent manner across the various public entities and sub-sectors of general government. This dimension has gained in relevance as recent fiscal governance reforms in the European Union have put a premium on sound...

The Sapir report in 2004 famously dubbed the EU Budget a historical relic. In spite of calls from many quarters for a comprehensive budget reform, the Council negotiation was hampered by many institutional and political constraints and managed to deliver only limited change.However, the final...

This paper examines the benefits of co-ordination in EMU in a stylised manner and how these benefits have shaped the co-ordination framework in EMU. It then discusses in detail the co-ordination experience in four areas that are particularly important for the functioning of EMU: (i) fiscal...

This paper reviews the macroeconomic use of national fiscal policy in EMU and examines the rational and scope for a collective insurance system which redistributes income among countries in response to asymmetric cyclical shocks. The analysis of the record of national fiscal policies before and...

The cyclically-adjusted budget balance (CAB) is the backbone of the EU framework of fiscal surveillance, both in its preventive and corrective arms. The concept corresponds to the budget balance prevailing if the economy was running at potential. After correcting for the one-off and temporary...

What is needed for a country to successfully adjust after a crisis episode is a subject of much debate including in the euro area where four out of seventeen countries were in a full economic adjustment programme by end 2013. We identify adjustment needs by a country's decision to approach the...

The cyclically-adjusted budget balance (CAB) plays a key role in the fiscal surveillance framework of the Economic and Monetary Union. It started off in a supporting role in the shadow of the headline deficit and, before long, turned into the linchpin of the rules and requirements of the...

The Netherlands is almost a textbook-case of an open economy that is highly integrated in the world economy in terms of both financial flows and trade. Its current account has been persistently in surplus for over three decades and the surplus is one of the highest as in percentage of GDP of the...

In EMU, a country may have difficulty ensuring stability in the face of asymmetric shocks; the response may be unstable, or, even if not, the real exchange rate might overshoot. Fiscal policy may help to stabilise inflation and also to target the real exchange rate. The paper argues that an...