General government spending provides an indication of the size of government across countries. The large variation in this indicator highlights the variety of countries' approaches to delivering public goods and services and providing social protection, not necessarily differences in resources...

The relationship between different levels of government is one that is continually under review. Policy-makers ensure the expenditure and revenue functions of each tier of government with a view to balancing efficiency, equity and democratic considerations. Over the last decade, the tendency in...

Government at a Glance: How Hungary Compares presents recent comparable data on key indicators of government activities and performance in Hungary, compared with its neighbouring countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) as well as the OECD average. The...

For most countries in the OECD, 2015 is the seventh or eighth year of dealing with the budgetary consequences of the economic and financial crisis. These years have been marked by challenges of fiscal retrenchment of a scale and nature unprecedented in modern times. Previous OECD publications...

Populations in OECD and emerging economies are ageing rapidly, which will have significant macroeconomic impacts, including on public expenditures and tax revenues. The rules and practices that govern fiscal relations among different levels of government, such as their responsibilities for...

Finance ministries have been at the forefront of the response to the COVID-19 crisis, alongside other actors such as health ministries. They delivered substantial successive fiscal packages under considerable time and operational pressure, as speed was key to the success and effectiveness of...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant deterioration in public finances, adding to pre-existing strains from long-term structural challenges including population ageing, climate change, rising inequality, digitalisation and automation. This report, originally prepared for G20 Finance...

The focus of this brief is on the policy responses that governments can and are taking through the channel of inter-governmental relations to tackle the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Sub-national governments are playing a crucial role in the current crisis, and past experience suggests they...