In the 24th IEA Discussion Paper, David B. Smith takes an historical perspective on the 2009 Budget forecasts. His analysis concludes that the budget deficit will reach levels that are unprecedented in peacetime.The government's preferred market-price GDP measure overstates national output...

The EU budget review process will restart as we approach the end of the current financial framework 2007-2013. This paper traces the history of the EU budget and draws lessons for the review to come. Whatever reforms are proposed, they must serve to shift spending to policy areas and instruments...

In Deutschland besteht breiter Konsens, dass im Rahmen der Föderalismusreform II härtere nationale Haushaltsregeln beschlossen werden sollten, die zu einer engen Begrenzung staatlicher Defizite führen. Wie kann jedoch im Rahmen strenger Regeln gewährleistet werden, dass der Einfluss der...

This paper reviews current discussions on reforming the European Union (EU) budgetary procedure and assesses the main reform proposals that have been suggested thus far. It argues that prospects for reforms are presently hampered by the complex interplay between supranational and...

New Zealand's fiscal outlook deteriorated following the Global Financial Crisis, and in late 2008 fiscal projections showed net government debt in New Zealand increasing from 5% of GDP to around 40% within 10 years, mostly reflecting permanently lower expectations for future tax revenue. These...

The budget forms the legal basis of government spending. If a budget is not in place at the beginning of the fiscal year, planning as well as current spending are jeopardized and government shutdown may result. This paper develops a continuous-time war-of-attrition model of budgeting in a...

From 2001 the fiscal policy in Chile has been based on a structural surplus rule. Under this rule, the government is committing itself to maintain its expenditures equal to the structural revenue minus the target for the structural surplus, which is expressed in terms of the GDP. The calculation...