This paper describes and analyses the fiscal rules for subnational governments (SNGs) in OECD countries immediately prior to the COVID-19 crisis. It is based on information from the 2019 survey of fiscal rules for SNGs by the OECD Network on Fiscal Relations across Levels of Government. The...

Uruguay is the only country in the world which has a five-year budget. A budget is prepared by each new government taking office and voted within 6 months of its swearing in, for the whole five-year government term. Each year, an annual revision (“budget update”) takes place, where the...

The world is recovering from the worst economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression. The recovery will probably be shallow and government deficits could remain very large over the next few years in a number of countries. The crisis has a negative impact not only on central...